We Do As We Damn Well Please
by otakucraze
Summary: KakashixOC Meiyo has had a rivalry with Kakashi since she had been four. She hates his guts, but in time can these feelings of hate turn into friendship... or dare I say love? KakashixOC
1. Meet Meiyo and Nenriki

Chapter One

No One's POV

"The Shikyo is a secretive clan that refused to ever become ninjas for a hidden village. They instead took to a secluded island for the clan was so stuck up they didn't want another clan _touching_ their precious one.

Then there were the rules:

No emotions

No feelings

Assassinate everyone, leave no one alive

Uphold the family's honor no matter what.

The clan was so deep in their ways they created their own language

As with most clans there was a main and a branch family. My grandfather, Trinian, was lucky enough to marry a main branch member, seeing as he was in the branch family. Trinian as some of the branch family had a different view of having no feeling for anything and my grandfather's family upheld those ideals and installed it in their son. Trinian and his wife had twins, which was the norm for the Shikyo clan and when their marriage hit the rocky shore, Trinian decided to divorce her, since she was so emotionless and uncaring to the children she had bore into this world. His wife, needless to say, did not hold to his ideals of feeling and emotion and the divorce was finalized, leaving Trinian nothing, since he was a branch member, except for his daughter, while his ex-wife took the son, since she wanted a fighter and the clan knew that women couldn't fight, it was unheard of. When the rest of the main branch found out that some of the branch members were breaking the rules they set to destroy the individuals. By that time Trinian had taken his daughter across the sea and hid her in a hotel in the nearby fishing town. Trinian went back to gather the rest of his belongings when the massacre was happening. In anger Trinian went to the main branch and found the treasure of the Shikyo, and stole it, hoping to give it to someone who deserves it. He snuck aboard the ship and made it back to his daughter, hiding her from the rest of the clan, for once they found out that the precious swords were missing and the ring left in its place, the clan would risk its reputation to find and slaughter the family.

Although Trinian was a fighter, basically the same level as a Jounin ninja, he decided to throw his career away to protect his daughter. He dabbled in various jobs before finding his niche in smithing. He then picked up and left the village that taught him the skills and the two successfully changed their names, Trinian renamed his daughter Nagori, meaning memory, to remember the horrors of the Shikyo clan. The last name was easy for Trinian, he named it after himself. Trinian in Shikyoan meant Victorious. Nagori called Trinian her hero, for showing her that she could have friends, and relationships, and feel. So when Trinian needed to rename himself he called himself **Kesshi. **

**As Nagori grew older Trinian made it a point to teach her how to fight, and as she grew older boys started to finally notice her, and one stole her heart and married her.**

**As per usual of the clan she was from Nagori had twins, a boy and a girl. She named them Meiyo and Nenriki. Their family lived happily with Trinian coming over and giving Nagori's husband free weaponry, always saying "Keep yourself safe and protect my daughter, if you fail to do that I will kill you." **

**Nagori and her husband left to sell the weapons her father had made outside of Konoha Leaving the four-year-old twins who had just started the academy to the mercy of the their Grandfather." Trinian had finished, smirking as he said the last bit ruffling the hair of the young boy and girl lying in the twin beds beside him. **

"**Tell us another story Ojii-san" The boy, Nenriki, asked looking up expectantly**

"**Yes please Ojii-san?" Meiyo asked, poking her lip out and making it tremble. **

"**I don't know, you two really need to go to sleep" Trinian said looking happily at his grandchildren, who in turn looked at each other and smirked before looking at their grandfather again**

"**Please Trinian-sama" the two said, and in unison poked out their bottom lip and made it tremble and gave their grandfather big puppy eyes. The grandfather sighed before going back and sitting in the chair in between the two beds. The two children pumped their fists in the air in victory before calming down when their grandfather sat down**

"**Well since the two of you asked so nicely" Trinian said, "Let me tell you about something that your mother doesn't want me to tell you"**

"**What? What?" the two children asked excitedly, once again in unison**

"**Well, the two of you need to make sure that you dodge and evade any attack when you are near anyone who is from Konoha."**

"**Well duh, every ninja knows that, besides Ocaa-san and you have been teaching us how to dodge and evade for forever" Nenriki said humphing as he crossed his arms over his chest "I thought you were going to tell us something new" **

"**Nenriki, he said to dodge when near anyone from Konoha, not to just dodge" Meiyo said, before looking up at her grandfather "Why?"**

"**Your blood, your mother's blood, and my blood will knock anyone unconscious if they touch it, and if ingested or inserted into the body will kill." Meiyo and Nenriki looked up in fear and shock at their grandfather**

"**Than what do we do if we get injured?"**

"**Your saliva acts like a temporary bandage" The two looked up confused at their grandfather's last statement "I recommend the two of you learning basic medic jutsu in the near future, if you need help I will, especially with the dodging"**

"**Ojii-san, we wanted a story, not a lesson" Meiyo said as a pout formed on her face**

"**Fine" Trinian said sighing but was interrupted by a knock on the door. Trinian left to answer the door, leaving the twins to their own devices, something he would probably pay for it later.**

**He opened the door slowly to see a person dressed in the usual ANBU uniform. He looked on in a look of shock and confusion, "…yes?" Trinian said drawling out the word for extra emphasis**

"**The Hokage wishes to see you" The fox-masked ANBU said before disappearing in a poof of smoke. Trinian sighed before going back to the twins and sighed at the mess that they had done. He ushered the two their respective beds and tucked them in. **

"**The Hokage wishes to see me so I will put that story on hold" He said and turned the knob on the lamp and the only light in the room went out. He walked out the door and turned to make sure the two were still in their beds before shutting the door and walking out of the house, locking in the door in the process. Trinian walked to the large building in the middle of the city thinking, hoping, and praying that the house would not be burnt down, or destroyed when he finally did go back to the house.**

**Trinian walked up the spiral staircase, and knocked lightly on the Hokage's door.**

"**Enter," the third Hokage said before Trinian opened the door and quietly entered, shutting the door behind him. The third looked up and saw the man before saying "Good evening Trinian Kesshi, I am sorry to pull you out of your home at this late hour"**

"**It's not a problem Hokage-sama" Trinian said respectively "I just hope I arrive to my house with it still intact" Trinian confessed smiling and chuckling a bit "Meiyo and Nenriki are quite a handful"**

"**I am sure they are, and they are partly the reason I called you here" The Hokage said. Trinian tilted his head to the side, confusion showing into his silver eyes as peppered back and grey hair fell into his eyes.**

"**What?" Trinian said carefully, chewing the words before saying them. **

"**It is about your daughter and her husband, Kodowari Iikagen" The Hokage started **

"**What about them?" Trinian asked cautiously **

"**The mission failed, another team found them near the edge of the Fire Nation and returned with their bodies" The Hokage said slowly and gently, this was the thing he hated the most about his job. Trinian's eyes went wide and tears began to fall**

"**How-?" he was able to get out before a sob choked back the rest of the words**

"**We are still trying to figure that out, there was minimal blood on the shinobi that was protecting your daughter, just a scratch on some of them, but your daughter was found about 100 yards away and looked as if she were tortured for hours before they killed her"**

'**Shikyo clan' the thought bashed around in Trinian's head**

"**If you wouldn't mind, the twins will need a guardian…" the Hokage said gently to the broken man**

"**It's fine, they can stay with me" Trinian said, standing straight once more, wiping all the evidence of his broken heart from his face before asking "May I see my daughter's body?"**

"**Of course"**

**Kodowari Nagori looked as broken as her father felt. She had obvious signs of beatings, judging from the deep bruising and wouldn't doubt several broken bones along his precious daughter's body. He looked at her hands and smiled. The slice had told him what he needed to know, she went down fighting, most likely using the jutsu he had showed her, the one he created, he was proud of her. He pushed a stray black hair and pushed it off of her face, her mouth was permanently in a smirk, answering the second question he had to the dead body**

"**You didn't tell them, even after the beatings and the torture you didn't tell them where I was, or where your children were, you were smirking at their methods and they got angry enough to kill you" A tear escaped his eyes at the pride he had for his young daughter "I am so proud of you" He looked over her dead body to the body of her husband. His messy purple hair still defied gravity even in his death and he saw the scowl still present on his face, he went down fighting. A thought glimpsed through his mind of his daughter holding on to the purple haired man**

"_**I love him Otou-san" she said, her silver eyes twinkling in the sunlight. The purple haired man looked nervous; he could see it in his sea green eyes.**_

"_**I would like to marry her with your permission sir" he said bowing in respect. Trinian remembered how he almost grabbed the buster sword that was hanging on the wall to kill the man when he saw the face his daughter was giving him which clearly said 'Kill him and I swear I will kill you'**_

**Trinian smiled at the memory. Nagori was known for her wrath, but she was also known for her kindness, the boy however, was known for his mischief and his cunning, but he did care for his daughter tremendously and proved it to him daily. He had never seen his daughter so happy. He kissed his daughter's forehead, wishing her farewell and nodding in respect to his son-in-law before leaving to his household when a thought came into his head that made his blood run cold**

'**How am I going to tell Meiyo and Nenriki?'**

**He was happy to see his house was left standing when he came home and he took a deep breath before he unlocked the door and went inside to observe the damage. He turned on the light and saw items strewn across the floor, pebbles and glass and a couple flowers were scattered along the floor, and a deep gash in the couch told Trinian that the twins were sparring, as did the kunai stuck in the wall. He pulled out the kunai and put it on the table that was surprisingly still standing and walked down the hall, pictures were crooked on the wall and a couple were hanging from a corner but he ignored it when he checked on the two children. He opened the door and noticed, happily, that they were asleep, Nenriki strewn on his bed, his arm hanging off limply with a kunai still in his hand, asleep on top of the covers. Meiyo had fallen asleep with her feet on her pillow and her body halfway off the bed; she too held a kunai in her hand. He shook his head at the antics of the younger ones and he picked up the boy and tucked him into bed, taking the kunai out of his hand and placing in on his dresser. He did the same with the girl and took in a damage report of their room. Clothes were thrown everywhere, but that was a normal occurrence in the room, his watchful eye gathered in a broken door that he would have to fix in the morning, some weird goop covered one of the walls, and a definite blast had occurred in the corner, where he would have to replace the drywall. He again shook his head at the two, as if scolding them in their sleep. **

'**This was where the fight started' Trinian decided as he began fixing up the house, leaving their room for tomorrow. He started with the hall since the brunt of the damage had been done in the main rooms in the house. After fixing the frames he began cleaning the mess in the living room before heading in the kitchen and finding kunai sticking through the backside of a frying pan and his skillet stuck in the wall. Trinian sighed as he pulled it out and washed the dishes, throwing away the frying pan and adding it to the list of things to get from the store. After the house was cleaned to his satisfaction he went to bed. If he wasn't grieving he probably would have woken the twins up and had them clean the house, but he had no idea how to explain their parent's death to them. He went to sleep as the sun had just begun to rise in the horizon. **

**Meanwhile the twins had begun to stir and wake up, and got ready for school before heading out of their room to grab something to eat before going to class. They were both excited because they were going to practice throwing kunai today.**

Meiyo and Nenriki walked into class, the two sat next to each other and waited patiently for the class to start. The two were currently the first one in class and Meiyo smirked as she said to her brother

"Warn me when he comes in" before doing the hand seals: Rat, tiger, snake, dragon, rabbit, ram. Meiyo closed her eyes as she kept holding the ram seal. When students started filling the classroom, Meiyo, still trying to concentrate, put her head on the table in front of her, eyes still shut tight holding the necessary chakra to do what she wanted. Hatake Kakashi entered the classroom, the sensei coming behind him, his silver hair defying gravity as a mask covered half of his face, which you couldn't see anyway, since his face was buried in a book. Nenriki lifted the cloth covering his arm and using his fingernail, wrote the characters for 'He's here' on his arm, Meiyo twitched her right arm as if the writing had appeared on the exact arm her brother had wrote on. She lifted her head from the desk and opened her eyes as she followed the silver haired boy as he made his way to his desk. Girls began to squee, yet Meiyo ignored them as she focused on the boy as he went to his usual spot on the lower left hand side of the classroom, Meiyo counted the seconds as the boy lowered himself to his seat and once about an inch away from the seat she let the seal go, the genjutsu was released and Kakashi was found to be sitting on a piece of plywood, causing the springs holding it at an angle to unleash the trap the twins had set up as the table in front of him turned into a container of green goop, that the spring had kept from projecting itself. Kakashi didn't have time to realize the trap and dodge as the bucket's contents made his way towards him, causing him to be completely drenched in the thick goop, as well as some of the students behind and beside the silver haired student. Meiyo and Nenriki instantly began to laugh, falling off their chairs in the process. The rest of the class was in shock, including their sensei. Soon the shock began to fade as the rest of the students began to laugh. The sensei looked at his classroom and the chaos it was in. He sighed, knowing that the chaos that was ensuing would be worse if he did not fix it now.

"Kodowari Meiyo and Nenriki" The laughter stopped instantly as the class turned to the two mentioned, who in unison got off the floor and peeked over the table, identical deep purple hair falling into their silver green eyes.

"Hai" they said still not daring to get off the floor. Kakashi was visually steaming in anger at the two. Their eyes glanced at him, before looking back at their sensei.

"I want you here at the end of class today with your parents"

"Our parents are on a mission sensei" Meiyo said as the two got off of the floor and slid into their respective chairs, as one.

"Then your guardian will need to meet with me" The sensei said, though he would never admit it the two had shocked him today. He had finished a brief introduction of genjutsu yesterday, and the two had created a trap so ingenious that it used genjutsu that _he_ didn't even detect was impressive. He shook his head at the two before letting the students that had been plastered with the green goop go to the bathroom to wash up. He knew that the two were going to be a formidable force in the future.

He did a quick stall as he waited for the students to come back from the bathroom, giving a short summary of what was going to happen today

"As you know, we are going to go to some physical practice today, starting at the target range I will show you the proper way of holding and throwing a kunai, and to finish the day off we will break up into groups of two and spar." He mentally sighed a breath of relief as the students came back and he led the students to the target range. Meiyo and Nenriki stood next to each other, about four feet from each other, Kakashi on Meiyo's right, and another purple haired girl on Nenriki's left. The class watched as their sensei showed them how to hold the kunai, which frustrated Meiyo and Nenriki since they had been shown a different way. The class watched as their sensei threw the kunai at the target, hitting the middle perfectly. "Now it is your turn."

Nenriki held the kunai like their sensei had shown them, though it felt unnatural in his hands; he threw the weapon and glared at it as it hit the farthest rung from the middle. He grabbed another kunai to try again.

Meiyo was not having the same luck as her twin. She couldn't get used to the feel of the kunai and accidentally sliced her thumb up as the kunai from her hands. She drew in a sharp breath from the pain as she quickly put the finger in her mouth, sucking the blood until she could not taste it anymore. Withdrawing the formally bleeding finger she picked up the kunai, wiping the blood on it on her clothes. She attempted again, to hold the kunai like her sensei had done and ended up stabbing her finger

"Ow" she said, causing the boy on her right to focus on her as she once again attempted to hold the kunai correctly

"You can't become a genin if you can't throw a kunai" Kakashi teased with a cruel voice. Meiyo glared at him

"I can throw a kunai" She said defensively

"Sure, which is why this is the, how many times have you dropped your kunai?" Kakashi mocked, causing Meiyo's eyes to flash silver in her anger. She took picked up the kunai for the third time from the floor as she held it like her grandfather had taught her, holding the kunai in between her index and middle finger as her ring and pinky kept the kunai in her small hand and her thumb balanced the said weapon. She threw it without looking at it landed perfectly in the middle, not looking as she threw it. She smirked at the boy

"Ha" she said with pride, which instantly got deflated as her sensei yelled

"That is not how I taught you to hold the kunai Meiyo" Meiyo's prideful look on her face changed to a defeated one in the span of a second as Kakashi's went from shocked to elated. She forcibly turned away from Kakashi as she grabbed another kunai and finally held the kunai as her sensei had shown and threw it as it successfully landed an inch away from the target in the hay. Kakashi let out a laugh and the girl was tempted to grab another kunai and stab the boy with it. Her sensei stopped the thought from becoming a reality as he yelled to his class

"It is time to break up into groups to spar" Meiyo and Nenriki smiled at her sensei's words and got in a stance to fight each other before their sensei broke them apart and forcing Meiyo to spar with Kakashi, and Nenriki to spar with the girl who was on his left, a girl named Mitarashi Anko. Meiyo and Nenriki visibly frowned at the situation before facing their new sparring partner and when the sensei said "Begin" Kakashi grabbed a bunch of kunai and threw them at the girl; Meiyo remembered her grandfather's words and began evasive measures, doing back flips as she dodged the weapons. Her foot landed on a rock as Kakashi grabbed more kunai and threw them at her again. Meiyo was about to doge when the sudden movement of her getting ready to do more back flips and spins when the rock moved as the kunai got in a dangerous amount away from the purple-haired girl. Meiyo had no time to dodge the onslaught of the kunai as she lost her balance because of the rock as all eight of the kunai hid the girl in various parts of her body, she screamed in pain, alerting their sensei, and Kakashi looked as shocked as her brother, their sensei and the girl. The sensei made his way to the injured girl, but the twin of the injured girl ran to her first, before their sensei touched the blood that was spreading on the girl's fallen body. "She needs to go the hospital" Their sensei said, as Nenriki blocked him

"I'll take her" He said, picking up her bloody body easily.

"I still expect you two and your Ojii-san in my office when Meiyo is fixed up" their sensei said and Nenriki ran off making his way to the hospital as the girl cried in pain. Nenriki made it a point to glare at the silver haired boy that hurt his twin as he ran past him. Once out of sight of their sensei, Nenriki changed directions, running towards his grandfather's shop instead of the hospital. Once Trinian saw the bloody body of his granddaughter he closed up shop and led the two into the back room and pushed the items on the table onto the floor, as he pushed up his sleeves. Nenriki placed his sister's body on the table. Trinian quickly did the necessary hand seals to cause his hands to glow a light green and he placed the light over the bloody parts of Meiyo's body, healing the wounds of the now whimpering girls. Nenriki pulled out a kunai that was still in his sister's shoulder and she screamed in pain at the action. The older man healed the girl, causing her whimpering to stop as he finished the healing that needed to be done.

"Now would you explain what happened?"

"We played a prank on a boy in class" Nenriki said

"Hatake Kakashi" Meiyo said, clutching her shoulder that recently had a kunai sticking out of it, which now had a scar.

"Anyway sensei broke the two of us up after target practice and Meiyo had to fight Hatake and-"

"I was fine until I landed on a rock temporarily as he grabbed more kunai and the rock moved and I lost my balance and the kunai hit me as I was falling." Meiyo said finishing her brother's sentence as she wiped her tears off her face.

"Sensei wants to see you when Meiyo was fixed up" Nenriki said to his grandfather, who rose an eyebrow at the twins "It's about the prank-"

"Which was awesome!" Meiyo said excitably as she jumped off the table and grabbed her grandfather's hands "You should have seen in Trinian-sama, I used genjutsu and released it as Hatake was sitting down-"

"Which unleashed the mechanism I made that made our green goop fly into his face-"

"And completely drenched him in it!" Meiyo finished as she jumped up and down, still holding her grandfather's hands. Trinian smiled down at the two children, Meiyo let go of his hands and grabbed her brothers and jumped around in a circle in joy over their prank. Trinian ushered the two out of the building as the weight in his gut reminded him of the tale of sorrow he had to tell the two. He was saddened by the fact that this might be the last time he would see and hear the happiness that followed the two around. He followed the twins down the road to the academy to talk to their instructor. Once inside their classroom Trinian looked with pride he did not show at the mechanism that Nenriki had created, completely ignoring the instructor as he ranted about the chaos that ensued that morning. Once the instructor had finished Trinian beamed at the teacher, shocking him

"So the genjutsu _was_ a success, and I'm guessing you didn't sense it?" The sensei looked in terror at the older man in complete shock "I am right, am I not?" The sensei stared dumbstruck at the older man in front of him.

'Does he not know what type of damage this information can do to the village now that the two know it?' He thought

"But it does not matter" Trinian said, sighing as turned around and looked at the two now very excited and proud twins. He sighed, he would love anything not to do this to the two, but he had no choice. Trinian knelt down in front of his grandchildren and looked them both in the eye "I have some important news for you" The twins looked into the eyes of their grandfather with a curious expectancy "As you know I was called to see the Hokage last night" The two nodded "And, there is no way to say this but-" Trinian took a deep breath, the sensei behind him was also curious at what was going on "Your parents died on their mission" Trinian said softly, not looking into their eyes. Meiyo gasped in shock at the news, holding her small hands to her mouth, her eyes filling with tears. Her brother stood as still as a statue, tears welling up in his eyes as the dam began to break and began trailing down his cheeks. Their sensei stepped back in shock and left the room, letting the three be, now knowing why Kesshi had done what he done. Trinian grabbed the two and brought them into a hug as he too began to cry. The loss of his daughter had ripped a hole in his heart, but he knew it was worse for the two he now held in his hands, for he knew they would walk around Konoha and see parent and child together, and their hearts would begin to break again.

Later, after the shock had worn off for the twins he brought them to see their parents as the waterworks began again for the two, after the twins had said goodbye he took them out to eat, in an effort to cheer them up, his efforts were not working, so he decided as a last resort to show them something.

"Okay, you two know remember the swords in the story?" Trinian said, waiting for the twins in front of him to nod. He smiled "Well as the story goes the swords can only be used by very special twins, one for each twin, if someone attempted to use both their soul would be sucked up by the blades and divided in between the blades.

"Why?" Meiyo said, her usual curiosity peeking through her sorrow. Trinian smiled as his plan to cheer them up had begun to work

"Because the blades, the treasure of the Shikyo is known as the blood swords, or the soul blades. When stuck with the blades can steal the soul away from anyone-including those in the Shikyo clan" Trinian kneeled in front of the two once more "And I am going to give them to you" The saddened silver green eyes that looked at him brightened up with the statement that had just been said "I am not going to give them to you just yet" The light in their eyes began to dim "But I will show you how to use a katana so when the time comes you may use the blades of your ancestors" The light grew brighter in their eyes and the two grinned as they received their first katana and Trinian began to teach the two youngsters how to use them.

Two Years Later

Meiyo and Nenriki walked side by side, the hitai-ate used as a belt shining in the light of the sunshine as the two made their way to see their team. Meiyo had taken a liking of wearing navy, while Nenriki liked wearing his usual black. Even though the two were identical they had completely different personalities. After the shock of knowing that Kakashi beat the two of them by graduating the academy before them Meiyo and Nenriki hit the books, quizzing each other so not to be left at the academy again. Meiyo had succeeded in leading the class in terms of Ninjutsu and Genjutsu, while her twin led the class in Taijutsu and Senjutsu. They were both formidable opponents when it came to schoolwork. The two had graduated at the age of six from the academy, just turning the age of six before the graduation ceremony. Trinian was very proud of his grandchildren and it showed in his work, as he began to create special weapons for the two to start using. Meiyo was determined to beat Kakashi, mainly because he annoyed her to no end, always acting aloof and calm. She screamed when he beat her to Chuunin. Meiyo worked hard to become good enough to go into the Chuunin exams the next year, dragging her brother along with her. Their new sensei, Keikoku, seeing the determination in her Genin's eyes pushed them further, causing their other teammate, Moreno Ibiki, to go along for the ride. Ibiki didn't the twins at first, probably because he was four years older than the two, but they eventually grew on him and soon they became friends.

The twins' pranks lessened controllably when the news hit them of their parent's deaths, but the two were often encouraged to continue pranking each other by their grandfather, so their creativity and ingenuity would continue to flourish. Keikoku-sensei had finally agreed that the three were ready for the exam, which excited the three Genin in front of her. She smiled as they decided to fight, Meiyo doing quick hand seals and attempting to best Ibiki in Genjutsu, which she found never worked on him, since he had grown to like the genjutsu more than anything else. Meiyo pouted before doing more hand seals before letting a fireball fly from her palm towards her brother, who was speeding towards her. She expertly dodged the attack and landed dodging an attack to the head by Ibiki, before spinning around, unsheathing her katana and blocking the attack by her twin, she kicked backwards, kinking the older boy in the stomach and pushed her brother away before jumping away towards safety. The three were getting used to each other's fighting style.

After training was over Meiyo and Nenriki ran through the village at top speed after they parted from Ibiki. The two were on their way home when the wind blew Meiyo's bangs into her eyes, causing her temporary blindness and she crashed into someone,

"I'm so sorry" Meiyo said, knocking the bangs out of her face as she got up, and was about to offer her hand when she realized who it was. She glared at the boy and turned her back on him, confusing his teammates at the action, and the boy who was on the ground, Hatake Kakashi.

"Meeeeeiyoooo" her twin yelled whining and the blond haired sensei smiled as her brother jumped back towards his sister, jumping gracefully in front of his sister, confusion on his face until he saw the silver-haired boy and his face began to glow with realization. He was about to lead his sister away from the scene when the smiling sensei asked

"Why were you running so fast, Meiyo-chan, right?" Meiyo looked over her shoulder curiosity showing in her face as she began to fully turn her body to face the sensei. A light smile lit her face up as she looked up at him before pride went into the girl making her stand up straighter and looked up with a confident smile going over her face as she said

"My team is going into the Chuunin exam" Her twin had the same expression of pride and it stayed there until a chuckle was heard on the ground. Meiyo and Nenriki looked at the boy on the ground

"There is no way the two of you would ever pass" Kakashi said cruelly to the twins, who in turn glared.

"Ojii-san had a special present for us" Nenriki whispered the reminder in his sister's ear, lighting up her face once more. She stuck her tongue out at the boy still on the ground before saying

"Watch me, and I will prove you wrong" She said as the two twins took to speeding down the road, and the two teammates on Kakashi's team looked at the twins running down the street

"Minato-sensei, will we have to fight the two of them?" The girl on the team asked

"Yes Rin, the two of you are going to the Chuunin exams as well" Minato said to his students. "So I recommend the two of you get ready by packing what you will need for tomorrow"

Meiyo and Nenriki made their way to their grandfather's shop and once he saw them he motioned for the two to help him close shop. Meiyo closed the shutters, as her brother pulled the metal lining on the inside the door. Meiyo finished by flipping the 'Open' sign to read 'Closed'

The two were ushered into the back room and Trinian pulled out a decorated box and took out two bracelets, one feminine and one masculine. He handed the two twins in front of him each one.

"Don't lose those" he said as the two put them on "Nenriki that one used to belong to me and Meiyo that once belonged to your mother"

"What do they do?" Meiyo asked, noting the intricate design on the thin bracelet as she enjoyed the cold feeling of the metal against her skin

"I am sure the two of you know how to create a bunshin" the twins nodded "Well with these bracelets you can create a perfect bunshin, perfect meaning it can take damage, and act as if they are real, it is one of the tricks that the Shikyo clan used, it takes a bit of chakra from you when it is put on, as I am sure you vaguely noticed, with that chakra, and a thought, the design will glow slightly and you will have perfect copied versions of you running around, a trick I am sure will become quite useful to you tomorrow" Meiyo and Nenriki both hugged their grandfather and he relished the feeling that he would never had gotten if he had stayed on the Shikyo's island. He kissed the two's foreheads as he shooed them away to try out their new toy. Trinian was sure the Chuunin exams were going to be extremely interesting tomorrow.


	2. Irritating Pranks in the Chuunin Exams

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, or take credit for anything except for the characters I created.

Enjoy

-Otakucraze

* * *

Chapter 2

* * *

No One's POV

* * *

Meiyo and Nenriki woke up when the sun began to rise over the horizon. The two grabbed their packs and made to the meeting spot that Keikoku-sensei said to meet at. Ibiki was already waiting for the twins, and together the three waited for their sensei to lead them to the area in which the Chuunin exams would occur. Keikoku-sensei walked up to her Genin and prayed that they would make it through the exam. She was proud of her students, and wanted them desperately to succeed. Keikoku led them to the academy's building and told them it was as far as she could go and watched them enter the building.

* * *

Meiyo's POV

* * *

We walked into the building and came across the room we needed room 301. Ibiki stopped Nenriki from getting closer to the door and pulled us away from the small crows that was appearing at the door where two Shinobi blocked

"Meiyo, notice anything funny about the door?"

I looked at the door and my eyes widened at the familiar and I quickly turned to my confused brother and whispered, "Its Genjutsu" The three of us nodded to each other and snuck past the small crowd in front of the door and made our way up another flight of stairs. The three of us moved to a table and the boys sat down as I fixed my black shorts and sat on the table, crossing my legs we discussed what we thought might be useful to know before the exam started. The door opened and I looked over to see Hatake's teammates, I recognized them from school, Uchiha Obito and Rin. I folded my fishnet lain arms in my lap, pushing the loose, messy, purple braid from my shoulder so it landed with a light thud on my back. I stared at them with my greenish silver eyes. Obito looked over to me first.

"Yo" He said our team nodded once in his direction

"Problem" whispered Nenriki into my ear; I focused on my team instead of the one that had just entered

"What?" I whispered into the huddle we had found ourselves in

"We can communicate fine, but how do we communicate with Ibiki?" I thought about it, putting a finger to my chin as I did before an evil smile appeared on my face. I took out a piece of paper and wrote the character for arm on it before handing it to Ibiki. He looked up at me as if I were an idiot. I sighed before doing the handseals necessary to activate the chakra laden piece of paper. While doing the handseals Nenriki placed the paper on Ibiki's arm. I looked at the two and leaned into the huddle,

"Now you can communicate with me with that arm, and I can communicate with you and Nenriki at the same time." I said smirking, which caused Nenriki to smirk as well, and once Ibiki understood he began to smirk.

The instructor waltzed in and barked an order to have everyone take a piece of paper.

"The number on the paper is the seat you will have" The instructor backed, and numerous moans were heard, my team smirked, knowing this didn't matter, as the class dispersed to go to their seats

"If you are caught three times you, as well as your team, will fail; If you don't answer all the questions you, as well as your team fails, and the last question will be given at the end. You may turn your exams over and begin now"

I looked over the questions and cringed these questions were hard.

'A genin wouldn't know these questions' I thought 'What did the instructor say, 'Caught three times… wait… does he want us to cheat?' I thought in confusion as I lifted the black fabric to show the fair skin of my arm, and using my right arm as paper and using my index finger as a pen I wrote the characters for 'We are supposed to cheat' under the desk

A response came right after on my right arm, telling me Nenriki had sent it since he was left handed

'Yeah, kinda figured, but why?'

Another response came on my left arm, signaling me it was Ibiki

'Really, but why?' I thought about the question and then answered

'Because it shows how we are able to gather information without alerting anyone' I wrote pausing before asking 'So how are we going to do this?'

'I have no idea' appeared on my right arm

'I don't know' appeared on my left arm

I gave a frustrated sigh as I answered back

'Why do you expect me to always come up with an answer?' I asked as a kunai landed next to the person sitting beside me

"You, number 32, you and your team fail" the instructor yelled. My eyes were wide as three people left the classroom. I looked over my test and looked for the easiest one to answer.

'Can either of you answer any of them?'

'No' appeared on the right arm

'Nope' appeared on my left

'Can you?' appeared on my right arm

'No I cannot answer any of them' I answered back. I was starting to get nervous. 'If we couldn't answer the questions than we wouldn't pass' I thought, my palms began to sweat at the thought of not becoming Chuunin. 'What to do' I thought as another kunai flew next to someone else in the room

'We need a plan' I wrote

'We shouldn't act without one' Nenriki writing appeared on my right arm

'I agree with Nenriki we shouldn't act without a plan' I wrote.

'Does anyone have a plan?' Ibiki wrote. I sighed,

'No' I wrote as another kunai flew next to another person and their team got up and left

'We need to wait' I wrote

'Waiting can be dangerous' appeared on my right arm

'That can prove to be just as bad as failing to cheat without getting caught' I sighed again and stared at the paper in front of me. I had no idea how to get out of this situation, and from what it sounded like, neither did the rest of my team. So we waited, thinking, as we continued our conversation when the instructor yelled

"Congratulations, you got to the final question, but the question is do you want to answer it?" The instructor looked evil as he said "I ask because of you answer this question incorrectly, you and your team will forever remain a Genin! You can excuse yourself with your team and try again next time if you think you cannot answer it" I was shocked before writing on my arm

'If either of you raise your hand I will kill you mercilessly' I wrote pausing as the writing disappeared on my skin 'We didn't answer the other questions so we need this question' I finished and got affirmations on my arms. Countless shinobi raised their hands and left with their teams until about 50 of us remained.

"Congratulations, you all passed the first part of the exam" The instructor said as another instructor entered

"You have three hours until the next exam which is to be held at the forest of death" The instructor said as she left.

"We passed?" I said unbelief clearly in my voice. I hurried over to my team and together we left the building

"So this next part, what do you think it is?" Nenriki asked Ibiki and me.

"Well it's held in the Forest of Death so some sort of survival training" I deducted

"So we will probably be in there for a while" Ibiki said, Nenriki nodded

"The second part of the exam doesn't start for three hours, so this time is supposed to be gathering essentials" I added

"I'll grab the food" Ibiki said

"We'll grab weaponry" Nenriki and I said in unison and our team separated. Once at Ojii-san's weaponry shop we told him what was happening and shrugged, allowing us to grab the weapons of our choice, free-of-charge as always. Nenriki grabbed twenty shuriken for each of us, as I did the same with kunai. After grabbing the traditional shinobi weaponry the two of us went to the back room and up the stairs to our bedroom and changed into something that could stand up to be being worn and used in battle. I still wore my traditional plain deep purple long-sleeved shirt over fishnet and I traded my black shorts for black pants and bloused them at the bottom (A/N: Blousing is something the military does to make the bottom of the pants look 'puffy' usually you can use a hair-tie if you cannot find blousing strips, but normally how blousing is done is you put the hair-tie (or blousing strip) on your ankle and while standing tuck the bottom of the pants underneath the hair-tie (or blousing strip), and voila, blousing is complete! Usually blousing is done right above the shoe or boot btw) I put back on my black ninja sandals and didn't bother with my messy braid. If this was a test of survival I did not want to be worried about looking pretty, though I never did

* * *

No Ones POV

* * *

Meiyo and Nenriki made their way over to the forest of death and once Ibiki was present traded their wares before getting a piece of paper handed to them. The two boys didn't bother to listen to the instructor, as Meiyo barely paid attention, enough to gather the just of what was going to happen for this part of the test. Using each other's backs the three signed the waiver and turned it in for an Earth scroll. Ibiki hid the scroll in his pack. The proctor gave the team gate number 4

"So how does this part of the exam work?" Nenriki asked his sister, who in turn rolled her eyes

"Weren't you listening?"

"No"

"Why not?"

"Because I knew that you would" Nenriki said as if it were the simplest thing in the world. Meiyo glared at her brother as she walked herself and her team to gate number 4

"This part of the exam is to cut the contestants in half." Meiyo said as the two boys listened "We are to fight and find the other scroll, the Heaven or the Earth scroll," Meiyo added, just in case someone was listening in "and go to the middle of the forest and find the building that can only be unlocked with both scrolls, the next part of the exam will happen in that building" Meiyo said and looked at the two boys on her team

"That sounds easy"

"We have five days to get to the building or we fail" Meiyo said "I think we can make your goal to reach the building by tomorrow, nightfall at the latest" Her two teammates nodded in their agreement and they waited quietly for the gates to open. They dashed into the forest as one before jumping to take cover in the trees, rushing to get closer to the middle of the forest where they knew people would be going. Meiyo stopped her brother and Ibiki as a mischievous idea popped into her heard, looking at her face, Nenriki also grinned evilly leaving Ibiki confused

"What?" He said, annoyed at the non-verbal language going on between the twins

"Meiyo got an idea"

"What is it?" Ibiki asked Meiyo

"Bunshins, Nenriki, our _bunshins_" Meiyo said as if it were amazing, Ibiki looked as confused as ever, but Nenriki instantly understood. The two closed their eyes and ten bunshins manifested themselves, making Ibiki jump a bit, since they came about with no noise what-so-ever. The ten bunshins dispersed, breaking into groups of two with their bunshin twin. Ibiki looked confused still

"Kekkei genkai" Meiyo said simply, causing Ibiki to nod.

"So I have a plan" Ibiki said

"What is it?" Meiyo asked, her curious nature coming out to play in the emotions of her face

"Why don't we steal the scrolls from teams that are fighting each other?"

"That is such a great idea!" Nenriki and Meiyo said in unison.

With that said the three of snuck their way to the nearest battle and stole the scroll from one of the bags before running off snickering. Once they felt they were safe they looked at the scroll

"Earth, crap" Meiyo said.

"Well, let's try again" Ibiki said this time he lead the team to another fight. They attempted to steal the scroll sticking out of a bag when someone noticed

"Hey!" The boy pointed "You can't steal that" He successfully stopped the fight and the team from whom they were stealing from glared at Ibiki Meiyo and Nenriki. In a swift moment Meiyo grabbed the scroll and the three ran off, being pursued by the team they had just stolen from. Meiyo quickly glanced at the scroll in joy

"It's a heaven scroll" She yelled to her teammates and whistled, along with her brother. The ten bunshins popped out of nowhere and with a small cut to their fingers brought the team advancing into unconsciousness.

"What the hell did they just do?" Ibiki chastised the younger twins, who just grinned at the older teammate

"Kekkei genkai?" Meiyo said, hoping the older boy would believe her a second time, from the look of her teammate Meiyo deducted he did not. "I'll tell you later, in a more private setting" Meiyo said, shrugging and the ten bunshin disappeared as the three attempted to get their bearings.

Meiyo drew a large circle on the ground as her two teammates huddled around it

"So here is the forest of death, we were originally positioned here" she made an x on the circle "And we went towards the middle until about here, were we heard fighting on our left and went towards the noise to steal the second Earth scroll, we went to our right for the second scroll and ran off northeast from there until about here" Meiyo said making another small x "So to get to the building that is in the middle we need to go northwest for a bit then directly west." Meiyo said, now standing

"We challenge you to a fight!" Meiyo and her team whipped their heads to the sound to reveal Obito Uchiha and Rin, who looked like they had been through hell. Meiyo sighed

"Which scroll do you need?"

"Earth" Obito said, causing Rin to smack him on the head

"You aren't supposed to say that" Rin harshly whispered to her teammate. Meiyo shrugged and threw the extra Earth scroll to the two

"Here, we had an extra anyways"

"Yes!" Obito cried as he grabbed the scroll poking it with his kunai to make sure it was real. "Now how do we get to the building?"

"You can come with us, we can work together" Nenriki said, with a nod from his teammates.

"Really?" Rin asked

"Yeah, we are kinda close, just about 4 to 5 hours away" Meiyo deducted. "Let's go" She said, pointing in the direction they needed to go, and the five headed off. They walked for about thirty minutes when the sun began to set and Obito's stomach let out a large angry growl.

"I'm hungry"

"You shouldn't have eaten all your food!" Rin yelled at her teammate

"But I was hungry then too!" Obito whined. Meiyo and her teammates gave each other a look before Meiyo grabbed food out of her bag and handed it to Obito, instantly silencing the argument. Obito took it gratefully and shoved the food in his mouth

"Shut up you two, do you want to be targets?" Meiyo whispered to the two loudmouths

"It's not my fault" Rin started when rustling was heard above the five. Meiyo glared at her before grabbing a kunai her muscles got ready to jump out of the way when kunai spouted from above. The five jumped away dodging the oncoming weapons. Meiyo got cut and gasped.

'Not good' she thought and went into a battle stance when three older genin jumped out of the trees, their cloud hitai-ate's shining in the setting sun. Meiyo glared at the three and a quick glare to the two that tagged along

"We want your scrolls" The boy in front said

'Obviously he is the leader' Meiyo thought 'if we take him down the other two will run' But Meiyo did not expect to be attacked so harshly. More kunai and shuriken made their way over to the five and Meiyo and Nenriki were hit too many times to count, as well as the others.

Meiyo grabbed her chakra paper and hurriedly wrote some characters before tying it to a kunai and letting it fly, causing a loud explosion, with the enemy team distracted Meiyo quickly did the hand seals necessary to heal her brother, as he did the same to her, she took up some of the blood from her shoulders on her hands, her twin doing the same and ran to the opponents, doing simple Taijutsu without weapons. Ibiki helped Obito and Rin up and limped over to a nearby tree

"I didn't know they knew medical jutsus" Rin whispered in awe at the twins

"They literally know only the basics." Ibiki confessed "Only enough to heal cuts, that's it, and light cuts at that," Ibiki added, the look of awe began to damper in Rin's eyes. The twins flipped in unison and said

"Hiya!" as one, causing the team they were fighting to give them a 'what-the-fuck' look as the two they were fighting disappeared and the two real Meiyo and Nenriki appeared behind them and simply touched their bare skin with their bloody fingers, causing them to pass out. Nenriki and Meiyo grabbed a cloth and helping each other wiped away the remaining blood on their bodies. Rin and Obito looked at the twins in shock, as Ibiki looked at the twins in an 'I want-an-answer-now' look. Meiyo looked at Ibiki with an apologetic look as her and her twin tied the team that had attacked them upside down from a branch and then for good measure drew on their faces. Once the prank was completed the five continued on their way to the building. The darkness that engulfed them did make their journey stop as they gathered their supplies to sleep in. Meiyo lead the group to a large tree and offered to be the first one to keep a look out. Her small frame looked and listened silently over the four sleeping Genin, her braid going slightly with the wind as she kept perfectly still, just waiting and watching. When her eyes began to drop did she finally move to drop down a couple branches soundlessly to her twin which woke up with a start as she put a finger to her lips, writing on her arm 'Your turn to keep watch' the two traded places and Meiyo drifted off into a light sleep. The first rays of sunlight hit Meiyo and she awoke and quickly awoke the three sleeping Genin. Her twin was still on watch and she could tell he was exhausted. The five jumped down from the tree and landed silently, Meiyo landed on all fours and motioned the other four to be silent when her ears picked up a feint noise. After five minutes of being in the same position Meiyo silently and slowly got herself in a standing position and crept towards the noise. In a swift moment she grabbed what made the noise, a rabbit. She let out the breath she had been holding and let the rabbit go and motioned for the five to head off in the same direction they were headed before. Obito clutched his stomach and Nenriki grabbed food from his pack and threw it at Obito, everyone else grabbing food and eating while taking a break from the running.

The five made it to the foreboding looking building at noon, longer than Meiyo had deducted as the two teams brought out their scrolls to unlock the door. In a wide display of smoke the two team's Senseis appeared.

Minato went into great detail of how the choice of wording and the meaning behind of the Heaven and the Earth scrolls and their implications of shinobi life. Keikoku-sensei didn't bother; she simply looked at her team, sighed at the bored look on their faces and asked

"You didn't fight for the second scroll did you?"

"Yes we did!" Meiyo defended, then elaborated when her sensei gave her a calculated look "We did when they discovered we were going to steal it" Meiyo said, an innocent look on her face

"We gave the extra Earth scroll we stole and gave it their team" Nenriki said pointing at Rin and Obito. Minato-sensei stopped his lecture to look in shock at the team beside him

"Why?" He asked

"Because, it would be funny to see Hatake's face when they become Chuunin" Meiyo said, arms crossing over her chest in pride

"That and so we can say that teamwork is more apparent when he is not there" Nenriki added to his twin's statement

"I was just there to get to the next part" Ibiki said, shrugging. Meiyo and Nenriki ignored their teammates statement and asked their sensei

"Can we go in now?" in unison, of course

"I should make you go back and fight for a scroll but yes, you can enter the building, you lazy asses"

"We were told to get a second scroll and to survive the forest, not to fight for one, sensei, just to acquire one, which is what we did." Meiyo said, hands on her hips as she bickered stubbornly with her sensei

"You basically cheated"

"Did not"

"Did too"

"If we did then they cheated too since we gave them a scroll, and joined forces to make sure we weren't going to get injured" Nenriki interjected the two bickering females.

"Just get inside, if you don't become Chuunin I will beat your ass with "training" until you are in the hospital for the year, understood"

"Hai" the twins said in unison, Ibiki nodded, Rin, Obito, and Minato-sensei sweat-dropped at the threat the sensei gave her students. The team went happily into the building and grabbed themselves beds to sleep on, Meiyo and Ibiki were well rested from the night before; Nenriki on the other hand collapsed and fell into a deep slumber when he hit the mattress. Ibiki agreed to watch him as Meiyo investigated. Rin and Obito were already in a fight and Meiyo broke it up, ushering Obito into the room and telling him to sleep in the room unless he wanted to be suffocated by Rin in his sleep. Rin seemed happy about the current sleeping situations and Meiyo silently cheered at the thought that she wouldn't have to sleep in the same room as Rin. Meiyo cautiously turned the corner when she entered a room with older Genin in it. Scared she silently back tracked her footsteps.

Although she seemed fearless and animated, it was mostly because she had her twin with her. He was admittedly her crutch, someone she had confided in since birth. They shared their ideas and were not afraid to tell the other that the idea was stupid, or ingenious. Without her brother by her side in a situation like this Meiyo felt scared, and shy, and since she, unlike many other people her age, had not dealt with this feeling she felt she ran from them, going back to the room where her crutch lay sleeping and awaited him to wake up before investigating together.

Bored within minutes, Meiyo's hand twitched to prank someone, seeing this sign of boredom on the twin's face once before Ibiki instantly pulled out a pack of cards and invited Meiyo and Obito to play. Rin sauntered in, also bored and slightly scared, from her expression, and was joined in the game of sevens.

The first round, Ibiki won, since no one else had played before and he had to explain before. The next round Meiyo won, since she had grown in Senjutsu. The game continued in even ebb and flow of Ibiki winning than Meiyo winning until Obito and Rin were bored of losing again and again and again. Once Nenriki awoke the twins left to investigate further.

By the end of their second day in the building they had annoyed the Jounins watching the participating Genin by:

Starting a food fight (5 times)

Somehow getting green goop on their equipment and monitoring systems (twice)

Blowing up a hallway

Drawing on the sleeping faces of their sleeping opponents

Putting glue in peoples shampoos

Making the girls squeal with the frogs they had somehow smuggled in

And… Putting red dye in the water supply for the building

Needless to say the irritated Jounin were happy that the second part would be commencing soon and that the chaotic would soon be out of their hair. The Jounin were not the only ones excited, some of the genin wanted to see Meiyo's group killed for some of the pranks they played. The Genin were ushered into a large room with two screens. There were a bunch of Jounin waiting; all of them either the ones watching over the building and the Genin or the Genin's sensei. Meiyo counted the Genin in the room

'20 Genin' she quickly wrote on her arm to her brother, 'Let's wait until the third part of the exam to show our bunshin, ne?' a quick answer on her primary arm said

'Of course' Meiyo and Nenriki smirked as they ignored the instructions; Meiyo got the just of it already. Keikoku-sensei met up with her team on the balcony they had decided to be on, which was again right next to Minato-sensei's team.

Meiyo looked bored as she watched the fights begin; in fact she just stared until she heard her name get called "Kodowari Meiyo vs. Moreno Ibiki" The two grimaced knowing that one of them was not going to be Chuunin.

The two jumped down the railing of the balcony, and a lot of moans sounded from them, apparently most of the Genin wanted revenge. Meiyo went to the far corner of the battle field and got into a stance.

"I'm sorry Ibiki-san, I will make it quick" she said. Ibiki scoffed, he had fought the girl before, he knew her moves almost as well as her twin, and he could read her. The proctor yelled "Begin" and Meiyo did a flurry of hand seals as Ibiki charged, he stopped short in the middle as he checked for a chakra trail. A kunai grazed his neck as his teammate whispered in his ear "My blood will kill someone if it gets inside the body, or render someone unconscious if it touches bare skin, forgive me" she said as finger touches his neck, she quickly got the kunai out of the way of the falling boy as she bent down towards him, wiping the blood off his neck as medics came into the battle field to take him away. She used the already bloody cloth to wipe the kunai as she put it in her holster, climbing the stairs not bothering to look at the proctor when he announced her winner of the match. She felt terrible for not getting in a tie or something with Ibiki, for he wanted to become Chuunin as bad as she did. She put the bleeding finger in her mouth, letting the saliva heal the small cut. With her head down she took her spot next to her twin on the balcony.

"Wow, good job Meiyo, did not see that coming" Her sensei praised

"I feel bad for Ibiki" She told her brother when he gave her the questioning look.

"Well eve if the two of you got into a tie, neither of you would have passed" A small gasp came out of Meiyo's mouth as she turned toward her sensei. Nenriki patted his twins shoulder when his name was called

"Kodowari Nenriki vs. Kinuto Tsuchi" Nenriki jumped off the balcony, much like his twin did earlier and landed next to the proctor. "Begin" Nenriki jumped out of the way of the kunai thrown his way at the seething older boy.

"I will get my revenge for drawing on my face!" He yelled, causing Nenriki to stop for a second

"Ha, you're the one we wrote 'man-whore' on!" Nenriki said joyfully, sniggering a bit. Keikoku-sensei looked expectantly at Meiyo

"What exactly did you three do here?"

"Oh nothing much, a couple food fights, a blown up a hallway, glue in shampoo, drawn on faces" Meiyo said and muttered "green goo in the surveillance room" before saying in her normal voice "Not too much trouble sensei, just enough to pass the boredom" Meiyo smiled innocently at her shocked sensei as the blond-haired sensei behind the purple haired girl laughed quietly, covering it up with his hand.

"Ha" Tsuchi yelled, going for a kick in midair at Nenriki's head when he went through air. The boy looked confused when above him a foot collided with his head, knocking the boy unconscious instantly. Nenriki bowed as the remaining pranked-on people booed at the boy as he walked back up to his twin, the two jumped around in a little circle in glee singing to a lot of people's dismay

"We're gonna be Chuunin! We're gonna be Chuunin! We got to the next part! We got to the next part!" The two didn't bother watching the last of the battles but yelled excitedly when Keikoku-sensei nudged them when Obito and Rin won their respective battles. The next part, as the proctor said, would be held in the Konoha stadium and to take place in one month.

Meiyo and Nenriki excitedly ran to their grandfather's shop

"Ojii-san, Ojii-san! We got to the last part of the exam!" Nenriki and Meiyo yelled in unison with glee, causing the silver haired Chuunin already in the shop to twitch. Meiyo noticed him first

"And you said we wouldn't make it, proves you wrong mleh" She said, sticking out her tongue to the masked boy, who glared at her.

"You won't make it" He said, "You are too, weak and you cannot follow the rules about hiding your emotions" He said "Your rebellion with your emotions will get you killed" he said simply "Which is why you will remain Genin" He said, going over to the two's grandfather to pay for the weapons he had chosen, he looked down at the masked boy in disappointment as he took his money. The grandfather could understand why his grandchildren wanted to prove this boy wrong. He out of everyone knows what happens when you stile your emotions because you have to, you become unhappy. The masked boy left the shop, not bothering to look at the once excited twins.

"Congratulations, I believe taking you two out for dinner is in order to celebrate.

"I believe so too, Trinian-san, but the two should train first." Keikoku-sensei said

"Keikoku-sensei"

"Keikoku-san, please call me Kesshi" The peppered haired man said to the beautiful kunoichi.

"Would you mind if I take away you grandchildren for a couple of hours, Kesshi-san?"

"Of course not, please bring them back in one piece"

"Of course" Keikoku-sensei said as she bowed respectively before dragging the two purple-haired twins away


	3. Kakashi's Threat

A/N: Sorry this chapter is so short, but I wanted to have the next chapter start a certain way. This chapter is dedicated to ReadinFromPhone for reviewing!

Thanks again, and please review; it makes the chapters come out faster!

Enjoy!

-Otakucraze

* * *

Chapter 3

* * *

Nenriki and Meiyo were split up to train under separate Jounin. Meiyo got paired with a hunter-nin by the alias of Kuikku. Kuikku lived up to his name, meaning quick. In the month of training Meiyo she learned to be even quicker on her feet than she ever could have dreamed to be. He taught her ways to knock down her opponent, and helped her slightly with Taijutsu, but he stayed far away from showing Meiyo any Ninjutsu or Genjutsu. Nenriki, however, was bombarded with learning Ninjutsu and Genjutsu and stayed far away from Taijutsu.

When the time for the third part came along, needless to say Meiyo was feeling like she had no hope of winning, she knew very few jutsus but compared to the other Genin, besides her brother, she felt powerless, she knew that they knew more Ninjutsu, probably more Genjutsu as well. Taijutsu was not her strong point, it never was, her brother was better at than she was. She could fling kunai and shuriken, but she was never good at hand to hand combat, and considering that was all she was taught, she was not feeling confident in her ability at all.

Nenriki was feeling the same as his sister about his ability, his strong points were mainly Taijutsu, which it seemed his sensei refused to help him with his strong point and Nenriki was getting nervous.

The twins made their way over to the Konoha stadium, not acting like themselves at all. Kakashi bumped into Meiyo by accident and his eyes widened at her scared demeanor. She apologized silently not bothering to look up at him. Kakashi decided to not go train but instead to follow her. He was intrigued by how the twins were acting, just a month earlier she was sticking her tongue at him, now she was acting shy, completely the opposite of her regular self. He walked up to the stands and his sensei motioned him to sit next to his wife and him. Kakashi sat there looking down at the soon to be battlefield below him and the scared, anxious twins.

The proctor entered the stadium and Meiyo was so nervous she wasn't paying attention to what he said.

"First match: Kodowari Meiyo vs. Kodowari Nenriki" The twins both paled when they heard this as the other potential Chuunin headed towards the waiting area

"I'm scared" Meiyo said as she closed her eyes looking towards her brother.

"Begin" the proctor said, and in a quick leap the two jumped away from her brother. She got into a fighting stance, pushing the feelings of fear aside.

Nenriki and Meiyo had not talked at all while they were training separately, and Meiyo felt, for the first time, lonely and insecure about herself. The village silently rejoiced as the pranks virtually stopped overnight.

Meiyo looked at her brother before sighing. She did not tell him that she had discovered a new trick about the bunshin; she had worked on it when she was exhausted from training with Kuikku-sensei, when she was laying on the ground finding new ways to use her bunshin, it had been a complete surprise when she did it, and was probably the only way to beat her brother, who knew all her secrets.

Nenriki threw kunai and shuriken at her and she did flips and spins to avoid the attacks, creating bunshin along the way until there were around ten, she landed in a crouch and one of the bunshin threw a smoke bomb, she added another bunshin to the mix and disappeared, running up the sides of the wall and watched as in response to her bunshin her brother created some as well. She sat on the railings in the stands and let the disappearing act drop, grabbing chakra suppressing ribbons and wrapping them around her arms and legs to better hide herself. She heard gasps behind but ignored them

"Hello there Meiyo-chan, aren't you supposed to be down there fighting your twin?" She tried to place the familiar voice behind her but couldn't. She turned around to see a shocked Kakashi and his sensei. Kakashi tried to suppress his shock, but it did not work, she had seen his expression.

"I am trying to figure out which one my twin actually is" Meiyo said, looking down at the battlefield, looking at her brothers bunshin. It was no use really, she couldn't tell the difference between the chakra, she sighed undoing the ribbons and doing the seals to become invisible again. She needed a better angle, she was too high up. She ran around the area before jumping down on a railing and let the jutsu go, causing gasps immediately behind her, ignoring them she again wrapped her chakra suppressors around her arms and legs, and watched as her bunshin were fighting her twin's bunshin, using her one fire jutsu, and some even grabbed their identical katana to fight the boys. She scowled, watching as he used a jutsu on her bunshin, scraping them up, making them bleed. It was then that his idea was set in motion; he cut his arm, which shocked the onlookers, and made the real Meiyo's eyes widened, before drenching kunai and shuriken in his blood before letting them fly. Her bunshin were tired and had barely any time to dodge the quick attack. Eventually the rest of his bunshin did the same, causing all her bunshin to become unconscious and disappear into the background. Meiyo gulped as he found her with his eyes alone and she jumped down and ripped the ribbons off of her. Jumping and unsheathing her weapon as she did so, she copied her brother as she cut herself and cut and sliced the numerous Nenrikis around her. She created another bunshin and dodged his katana, throwing a smoke bomb and disappearing again, creating another bunshin as she went around unseen as she cut some more of the Nenrikis until there was only one left, and none left of her bunshins, again. She put the katana to her brother's throat as she appeared once more, and he froze, readying his muscles to move in an instant, before he could she raised her hand and said

"I forfeit" her brother instantly disarmed her and looked at her with shock

"What?"

"You are too strong, there is no way I can win this match, you know every jutsu I know, and you know a way to combat it, you are stronger than me with hand-to-hand combat. I cannot win" Meiyo said, looking at her still shocked brother "And you already disarmed me, which is what would have happened if I hadn't had forfeited." Meiyo said calculating "I would have lost either way, this way I still get to leave the field conscious" Nenriki nodded in understanding and the proctor yelled

"Kodowari Nenriki wins" We walked to the waiting area and Meiyo zoned out until the participating Genin were called to the field once more

"The following will become Chuunin: Kodowari Meiyo, Kodowari Nenriki, Uchiha Obito, and Rin" Meiyo's eyes lit up with the news and she and her brother jumped around in a circle with glee, Meiyo grabbing Obito to join in.

Trinian happily took the twins, with Obito out to dinner. Obito had become in the last week, an honorary Kodowari. The reason behind it being that with all the pranks they had done, Obito had joined in happily, while Ibiki ignored them and taught Rin how to play other card games. The fact that Obito disliked Hatake Kakashi also made the twins love him even more.

Two weeks after the twins had become Chuunin their grandfather left to deliver some weapons to another town, leaving the two to prank each other mercilessly, their grandfather's words reverberated in their heads as they did so,

"I leave you now to deliver weapons, I got someone to watch over the store so don't worry about it…" Their grandfather's eyes darkened considerably, scaring his grandchildren as he said "If I find this house, and/or my shop is destroyed when I get back I will torture the two of you before giving you long painful deaths, understood?" His voice was dark; the twins were frightened, they had never seen or heard their grandfather act or speak towards them that way. "I will be back in two weeks, I want things intact enjoy pranking each other, make sure the house stays clean!" Trinian said as he left the village, waving to his grandchildren.

Two weeks later the rumor of the great White Fang had come back from an unsuccessful mission, costing Konoha greatly, just to save his teammates. Meiyo and Nenriki didn't understand why it was such a big deal, the White Fang cared about his teammates, wanting to save them. Meiyo and Nenriki had the same priorities; they would rather give up the mission than lose each other, or Ibiki.

A week after the White Fang had returned news spread around like wildfire that he had committed suicide. The townspeople didn't seem to care. Meiyo purchased a white lily and went to the cemetery, passing the memorial stone to go further in to see the White Fang's son sitting and staring. Meiyo knelt beside him and placed the flower on his grave.

"I am sorry for your loss" Meiyo said softly "Your father was an amazing shinobi" Kakashi wiped his head at the girl and stood while yelling

"Amazing? You didn't know him! He screwed up! He forgot about his mission, and instead threw away the reputation he had created for his _teammates_!" Meiyo glared at him while also yelling

"People's lives come before the mission _always_! Who cares if it hurts the village, people are more important than politics!"

"How would you know, you are barely a good enough ninja to become Chuunin" Meiyo's glare grew harsher

"A person who doesn't care about the lives of his teammates is not fit to be a ninja" Meiyo yelled back pushing the masked boy, who in turn gave Meiyo the same glare she was giving him in. The two got in a fighting stance when a large poof of smoke appeared in front of the two before they could lunge for each other's throats and grabbed their collars, pulling them a safe distance apart.

"I will kill you!" Meiyo screamed as Kakashi's sensei held her father away from her target

"I will kill you first"

"As much as I would like to see which one of you actually wins this match to the death" Minato-sensei said sarcastically "Your Ojii-san has returned and is looking for you Meiyo-chan" he said to the girl who still glared at his masked student

"Fine," Meiyo said, showing that she was not going to attack Kakashi "But I swear to you Hatake-teme, I will be the one to kill you, no one else"

"Psh, in your dreams, I will be the one to give the final blow, no one else" Kakashi said through gritted teeth. Minato let go of Meiyo's collar and she continued to glare at the silver haired Chuunin while she made her way to her grandfather's weapon shop, happy that her grandfather was back she ran up and hugged him. He didn't look well and grabbed the twins to the back room, slamming the door.

"The Shikyo clan attacked me on my way back here" Trinian said "So they are getting close to discovering our location in the attempt to find the swords."

"We should tell the Hokage" Meiyo said, scared, the stories that had been told to her about the Shikyo clan scared her senseless, and if they were getting closer to Konoha than some things needed to be done, things that the Hokage needed to know about. Trinian sighed, his granddaughter was right; the Hokage could help put a plan into action to help not only his grandchildren, but the village as well. The Shikyo clan would not mind at all wiping the village off the map if they could find the swords, and the swords needed to be separated and sealed. The three left to talk to the Hokage, Trinian explaining everything and the four came up with an idea together, Trinian just hoped that the plan would keep his grandchildren safe, they were his pride and joy, a prime example at what the Shikyo clan could be, powerful and caring. The two were young, but he knew with time they could be great assets to the village he had grown to love.

The twin Chuunins left with their sensei and Genin teammate to go on mission, Kakashi seethed at the girl who left, and upon seeing him she glared, scowling in the process as she attempted to not throw a kunai at his thick brainless skull.

"Wait" the pepper-haired grandfather yelled to the team that was leaving the gates. The team turned and the grandfather of the twins presented them each a sword, the legendary blood swords of the Shikyo clan, the swords had chakra suppressing ribbons wrapped around the sheaths and a small piece of paper with the character for hide was tied to the sheath as well "May these bless you with safety and luck on your mission, and also as a gift for becoming Chuunin, I am so proud of you" He said, as he gave them each another holster and helped the two put it on over the holster that held their regular katana. "Good luck, hopefully when you return I will be back from going to Kumogakure and we can celebrate the success of your mission with take out" the twins gave identical grins as their grandfather ruffled their hair, waving as he watched the team depart.

Konoha didn't know it, but the recently proclaimed purple haired Chuunin girl would never be the same again.


	4. A Bloody Kimono and a New Meiyo  REDONE

A Special thanks to the reviewers ReadinFromPhone and LadyAmazonfor your touching reviews! Thank you so much and this chapter is dedicated to the two of you!

Thank you ReadinFromPhone for letting me know that this chapter was confusing, I fixed it up and hopefully it makes more sense. I added scenes and deleted scenes and I hope you like the changes. I don't want the readers to be confused, so please excuse the first chapter 4 that was posted!

Enjoy and please review!

-Otakucraze

* * *

Chapter 4

* * *

Ibiki lightly dropped his sobbing teammate and collapsed next to her, gasping for air. Keikoku-sensei sighed, saddened by the young girl's sorrow. Minato-sensei and his team chose that time to come up to the main gate. The team looked on in shock at the sobbing girl, who was bowing on the ground, one hand above her head on the ground, the other clutching her heart. Minato went to Keikoku and softly asked

"What happened?" Curiosity dripping in this whispering voice

"Her twin brother died" Keikoku said sadly, as softly as she could, but not soft enough. Meiyo heard her sensei and began to scream, as if her heart was being ripped out of her chest. Rin walked over to her and put her hand softly on her shoulder

"DON'T TOUCH ME" Meiyo screamed as she whacked the girl's hand away. Rin backed away; she had never seen the girl in front of her act this way. Obito just stared, confusion and sadness leaked onto his features as his heart ripped for the friend he had made only a little over a month ago. Minato picked up the sobbing girl bridal style and bloodshot greenish-silver eyes stared at the man who did so. Her green eyes were magnified and Kakashi felt a bit of sadness for her, but shook it off as remembered the rule that stated not to show emotion. Meiyo grabbed onto the fabric of the man's shirt and cried into it. Sobs ran through her body shaking her small frame and he told her sensei

"I will take her to her grandfather, you two can go up to see the Hokage" At Keikoku's nod Minato and the sobbing girl disappeared in a poof of smoke. "Ojii-san" Minato called gently once he appeared at the weaponry shop. A tired pepper-grey haired man came out of the back room rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. He had just arrived back home when he crashed in his bedroom, he had woken up to the sound of someone in his shop. He looked at his broken granddaughter and worry filled his features

"Meiyo?" He said softly as he jumped nimbly over the glass counter "What happened?" He demanded, worry clearly evident in his voice as he took his sobbing granddaughter in his arms and knelt to the ground holding her gently as she sobbed, tears no longer ran down her cheeks, her body could no longer produce more tears, but the tears she had cried for the past few days were evident by the clear streaked stains on her pale cheeks. Sobs continued to rake through her body as only to remind her of the pain she was feeling as her heart was ripped in two. Thoughts kept going through her head in rapid fire such as

What will I do now?

Who am I going to confide in?

How will I know my ideas are good?

Who will I talk to?

Who will I prank people with?

Who will cuddle with me when I wake up from a nightmare?

Who will train with me?

Who can I trust?

How will I survive without him?

How will I conquer my fears without him?

Who will come to my rescue?

Who will hold me and comfort me when I think of Ocaa-san and Otou-san?

Who will hold me back when I want to kill the Hatake?

Who will join me when we want to fight the Hatake?

Who will I laugh at in the morning?

Who will help me create the green goop?

Along with the thoughts came the memories

Memories of story time

Memories of pranking the Hatake

Memories of becoming Chuunin

Memories of training until they were so exhausted they fell asleep with each other

Memories of learning how to fight

Memories of him fighting when other kids called her names

Memories of him protecting her

Memories of the food fights that they shared

Memories of pranking their grandfather

Memories of the entire family together

The girl lost half of herself when she lost her brother; she lost her comforter, her conscious, her protector, her friend. Meiyo felt cold and alone without her twin and knowing that she would never see him again made the sobs increase drastically.

After a couple of days in the fetal position and refusing to eat her grandfather dragged her out of the house. She walked like she was dead, void of all life. She walked behind her grandfather, but she walked as if she had given up on life. Sorrow and grief were also in her grandfather's eyes, but he was not the one who lost a twin, the two had never been separated, except for the month they were training for the Chuunin exams, and he was not blind, it weakened the two considerably. He feared for his granddaughter as she had to re-teach herself how to live without someone being there for comfort, without her crutch. She had to learn to depend on herself, not the twin who could no longer be her back-up plan. She had to re-teach herself everything that only children already knew she had to teach herself to be alone.

For the first week without her twin Ibiki, Obito, Rin, Keikoku, Minato, and her grandfather attempted to cheer the young girl up. But with every attempt it sunk Meiyo deeper into despair, for their attempts inadvertently brought the young girl's mind to her brother, and she kept spiraling down into depression.

As much as Kakashi would hate to admit it, he was glad Meiyo was depressed, not because the girl he disliked was miserable, but rather that the effect it made on the Uchiha teammate of his. The usual loudmouth idiot was quiet, unthinking, and was depressed himself. He actually enjoyed the quiet missions that they had taken, yet when he looked at the girl who was the cause of it all, he remembered how she used to be, he didn't want to admit it but he missed it. He missed the fighting, he missed the pranks, he missed the anger and he missed the life that was in her eyes.

Obito was currently trying, and failing, to cheer Meiyo up with ramen when Kakashi finally found her. She just simply looked at him, before looking lifelessly at her ramen

"Meiyo" Kakashi said, standing behind her, she slowly looked behind her to the mask boy. Without a second thought he slapped her, shock echoing on her face, Kakashi ignored the Uchiha who was yelling at him when a small smile lit his masked face when the shock of the slap her had given the girl arose the anger, the life in her once hollow eyes. A glare appeared in her face as she punched him. He kicked her, she slapped his face. Glares on both of their faces evident when their fight escalated, she gave Kakashi a black eye, scowling he took Meiyo's bowl and smashed it over her head. The ramen noodles twisted down her face the broth drenching her hair and soaked her face and shoulders, she cracked a small smile. Then he heard it, melodious laughter she clutched her stomach as she fell to her knees, the Hatake following suit as he too began to laugh. Obito stared in shock at the two who were on the floor laughing. Meiyo grabbed some of the noodles and flung some at the masked boy.

"I heard yelling and fighting… wha?" Minato said as he and Keikoku ran over before staring at their students in shock. Keikoku grabbed her composure first and interrupted the two laughing pre-teens.

"Meiyo-chan, the Hokage wishes to see you" the girl's sensei said softly, the purple-haired girl looked up quickly, the ramen noodles dropping from her head in fast succession as she did so, and Kakashi noticed as he too stopped laughing, with disappointment, that the life that was brought upon by the fighting was slowly fading. Meiyo got up and rung the ramen broth out of her hair, and dusted the egg and other small bits out of her hair s she silently followed her sensei

"Kodowari Meiyo-san!" The Hokage exclaimed happily "I hope you don't mind but with your Kekkei Genkai we decided to have you learn under Kuikku-san again." He said, a small smile on his face directed to the broken purple-haired girl "We would like for you to learn how to be a hunter-nin" He finished. The girl looked at him with her lifeless greenish-silver eyes widening as "Ah-you-don't-say" before shrugging. The Hokage sighed. Kuikku entered at that time and looked over the girl quickly, noticing her to be thinner than before, and she seemed… dead. Kuikku looked to the Hokage, who motioned for Keikoku to leave. She bowed in respect before leaving, shutting the door on her way out. "Kuikku, her Kekkei Genkai is in her blood, if it touches someone they pass out, if her blood breaks the skin they die, I believe this will be useful in your line of work. Train her well, she is a valuable asset to Konoha" the Hokage said, Meiyo just stared out the window. Kuikku put his hand gently on the girl's shoulder, causing her to break her trance and look at her new sensei, he grinned at her, and she just stared back before looking once more out the window. Without her seeing he grimaced. He now knew this was going to be harder than he thought. The two bowed and left.

* * *

Two Months Later

* * *

"Harder Meiyo! Harder!" Kuikku said as he had his arms up, and Meiyo kicked again "Your brother can do better and he's dead" Kuikku said, standing straight for a bit as he said his statement. Anger flew into Meiyo's face as she kicked and her sensei was knocked over by the force

"What did you say?" Meiyo said through clenched fists

"Something that would get you riled up" He said simply. "Now explain to me how to kill someone with chopsticks" Meiyo sighed as she recounted the countless ways of doing so, as she began punching her sensei's hands. This was a ritual, it seemed, and the physical exertion was keeping Meiyo away from the deep dark hole that her heart so desperately wanted to dive into. Tomorrow would be her first mission with the new training she had received, and needless to say she was nervous. The two entered the village and Meiyo walked to her grandfather's shop before going directly to the back to go up the stairs that led to her room. She looked at the mattress with a look of relief on her face as she let her body crash down on it, headfirst. This was the first time she got to sleep on a mattress in the two months the training had started. Kuikku was a very strict sensei, pushing Meiyo harder and harder each day. He taught her how to make a small fire so that it wasn't notice, how to make a camp disappear when it was time to leave. She had to admit, the ways to kill people were _fascinating_ to her. She was just worried about the actual _killing_ part. She rested well, above the covers and halfway off the bed and awoke to the first rays of dawn. She stretched before getting dressed. Her hair looked disheveled but that did not matter to Meiyo, she still felt alone and the grief from her brother's absence in her life but the life in her eyes was slowly coming back, very slowly. Kuikku met Meiyo in front of the Hokage Tower and together they climbed the spiraling staircase and Kuikku knocked on the door. The two bowed and got the mission details. The mission was a B-rank and they were sent to kill a drug dealer that had been harassing a small town in the fire country for the majority of the season. The two nodded once more and left the Hokage Tower to gather their items. The village they were sent to was close enough, and as they walked the street Meiyo's sensei sighed.

"We need to dress you up so he can come to us"

"What?" Meiyo said incredulously

"We need to dress you up"

"What's wrong with my appearance?" Meiyo asked through clenched teeth. Kuikku looked at her as if she were joking. Her braided hair, had not been redone in months, in fact it still smelled faintly of ramen, it was messy and disheveled and parts were matted, not to mention very oily. Then there were her _clothes_, her long-sleeved black shirt was stained with blood, ripped in some places, even a sleeve was missing, to make matters worse she looked like she was swimming in it. Her pants were basically shorts now and had holes and rips from use day after day in training. The pants would have fallen off of her if it weren't for her hitai-ate which was upside down and hung lopsided on her stomach. She was filthy from living in the forest for two months and stunk since she had not taken a bath. His definition of a bath included the use of soap, Meiyo's did not when she was on a mission. Kuikku sighed and led her to a bathhouse paying for her to wash up. He forced her to give her the hair band that kept her braid in place. Once he knew she was bathing he bought her a simple kimono and some make-up as well as a brush.

By the time Kuikku had returned Meiyo was out of the bath and was wrapped up in a towel, she was wringing out her hair when her sensei handed her the clothes.

"Put these on"

"What's wrong with my other clothes?"

"You will not attract the man we are looking for in those clothes, put these on" Meiyo grumbled to herself about being dressed up as a doll as she grabbed the folded kimono and went to the bathroom to change. She came out toweling her long purple hair and was her sensei with a brush in his hand and patted the ground in front of him for Meiyo to sit. She did so obediently. He began to brush her knotted matted down hair from the bottom up as the girl winced from the pain of getting her hair brushed "This wouldn't be so bad if you would brush your hair more often" The sensei chastised the student as he brushed her hair carefully. By the time he was finished with the chore her hair was completely dry. Natural waves appeared in her hair and it felt silky smooth to the touch. She stood when he finished and turned, subconsciously braiding it until a hand shot out to stop her. She looked at her sensei as if he were insane

"How am I going to finish the mission with my hair down?" she said

"You look nicer, more feminine, with your hair down"

"So I don't look nice with my hair braided?" Meiyo countered. "Besides what would he want with a girl my age?" He took out the make-up and applied to gingerly to the irritated girl, applying some blush, a bit of gloss and a dash of eye shadow.

"I didn't mention he is into trafficking as well?" Meiyo paled. "Relax; you remember all the ways to kill people right?" She nodded, still pale "We drilled with them in training" She nodded again "I will be with you in the shadows watching, when you see the man we are meant to kill do it, I will take care of the others." He said as he handed the girl a senbon needle and an arm warmer. Meiyo did as her sensei soundlessly expected her to do and placed the senbon needle underneath the arm warmer, so that it was completely hidden. By her sensei's command she left the hotel and wondered up and down the streets, fake tears rolling down her cheeks

"What's wrong girlie?" A man said as he leaned against the wall. Meiyo sniffed

"I lost my mommy and daddy" she said through fake sobs as she began to cry harder

"I think we know where to find them"

"Really?" Meiyo said, acting innocent as she opened her eyes wide at the older man who smirked down at her

"Of course, follow me" Meiyo obediently followed the man down a dark alleyway and to where about five men were at

"Nice job Mubi" the guy Meiyo was sent to kill said as he stood and walked closer to her. She instinctively backed away, her hands behind her back as she slowly grabbed the senbon needle and poked herself with it

"You're not my daddy" Meiyo said as she backed up further

"You won't see your mommy or daddy ever again" The man said as he extended his arm, Meiyo quickly jabbed the senbon needle in the man's arm, and watched in horror as the life left his eyes as he fell on her. She screamed and immediately kunai and senbon needles flew through the air, effectively hitting the remaining men before they could blink. Kuikku grabbed the dead body off the girl and helped her up, giving her a kunai. Meiyo blinked the tears out of her eyes as black hair blew into her face. She blinked, _black_ hair? With her other hand she grabbed tresses of her hair and pulled it in front of her face. It was black, she pulled the tresses in her hand and winced as she did so, deducting that the hair was her own. Her sensei looked at her in shock. Meiyo began to hyperventilate as she dropped the kunai. Her world began to spin before a light slap hit her face, knocking her out of the shock she was in

"Finish the mission Kodowari" Kuikku said staring at the girl in front of her, she grabbed the kunai that she dropped and looked at her sensei. He gasped, instead of the green eyes that turned light silver in the sunlight he was staring into emotional silver eyes. Confused the girl stood and walked over to the man. A tiny hand grabbed his hair to pull his head up as she cut the throat of the man, grunting as she had to saw through bone. Blood splattered everywhere and poured onto the newly bought kimono. Once the deed was done she looked at her sensei handing him the head. He grabbed it and put into a bag, tightening the bag's opening with the pull of the rope. He tied the remaining rope around his belt and together the two did the necessary jutsu to set fire to the bodies. Kuikku grabbed his student and fled the village.

Meiyo ran into Konoha, not bothering to show the necessary paperwork as she did so, she picked up the hem of her bloodstained kimono to run faster, passing a shocked looking team Minato as she did so

"Ojii-san, Ojii-san!" She yelled when she neared her grandfather's shop, the man called dropped the weapon he was pounding in terror when the girl ran up, out of breath. "Ojii-san Ojii-san!" Meiyo said in between breaths.

"Meiyo?" Her grandfather said in disbelief, causing the young girl to look at him as if he were an idiot

"Duh" she said simply

"S-Sorry, what happened" he said as he rushed toward her "Is this your blood?"

"killed..." She said racking her brain for words, her grandfather's eyes were wide, and the look in his granddaughter's eyes were wide with fear, "Kekkei Genkai, black hair" she whined still staching her breath. Trinian nodded in understanding and smiled softly. "Help?"

"Close your eyes and take a deep breath" He instructed the incredulous girl in front of him "As you do so imagine the soul of the one you killed rising up out of his body and clutch it in your hand" Meiyo did so obediently "Now as you breath out imagine the soul flying away into a Shinigami's hand. Meiyo did so and like running water her hair turned from black to the deep purple and as she opened her eyes they were once again greenish-silver. She grabbed her tresses and jumped for joy as she tackle hugged her grandfather.

"There you are" Kuikku said "Did you forget that once you finish a mission you are to report to the Hokage _first_ before running off and doing other things?" He asked, leaving the fact that he was relieved that she looked normal out of the conversation, it was meant for the Hokage's ears alone what strange thing had happened today. Kuikku excused the two of them with a respectful bow and grabbed Meiyo's wrist and transported the two to the tower, using one handed seals to do so. Meiyo's smile faded to a worried look as she thought

'How am I going to explain this when I don't even know what happened?'

* * *

A few minutes later...

* * *

"So, uh, yeah, I guess if I use my blood to kill my hair turns black" Meiyo admitted moving her shoe back and forth on the floor

"And her eyes turn silver" Kuikku added

"What?" Meiyo said, then thought of her grandfather's expression when he saw her "That would explain why Ojii-san was shocked, he thought I was a Shikyo" Meiyo muttered to herself. "But the mission was successful" Meiyo chirped, hoping to bring the discussion far away from her bloodline limit, and the odd things it did to her body when she used it to kill.

"Yes, it was quick and painless" Kuikku admitted to the Hokage.

"Would you like her to further aide you during your missions as you train her?"

"Absolutely" Kuikku said "Her Kekkei Genkai made the kill go fast and smooth for a first kill," Kuikku admitted

Meiyo shrugged, she didn't want to admit it, but even though killing someone scared her, and terrified her, she remembered the adrenaline that coursed through her body, she realized she liked adrenaline. The adrenaline reminded her that she was alive, and while it pumped through the small girl she did not think about her brother, her body felt tingly, and she felt amazing. But alas, since the village was a short distance away, and with her sensei carrying her part of the way while she was still in shock, it took about two minutes of her actually running, when her shock transformed into adrenaline. She ran faster than she ever did before, not thinking, not caring, directly into the village, her heart pumped hard and her blood pressure increased. She did not hear her sensei screaming for her to change before going into Konoha, all that the girl processed was, 'Get away from the scene of death.' and 'get to safety'

She remembered little of the actions before coming to the Hokage's Tower. Her body was slowly draining out the adrenaline from the girl's body, and she was becoming increasingly exhausted. Her arms began to shake as the wall that the adrenaline had created broke, and the fact and the images of the killing flooded through her mind. The girl clutched her head as images flashed through her head, her small hands twisted through her hair as she began to pull, hoping to let the pain release in doing so, but it did little to lessen the pain. She dropped to her knees as the memory, the constant image of a sword through her brother's chest popped into her brain and she began to cry.

_The group was surrounded, Keikoku looking back and forth through the numerous enemies. _

_"This C-rank turned into a B-rank awfully quickly" Keikoku muttered to herself. The sensei calculated the four enemies around her, and cursed 'This was only meant to be a delivery mission' the woman thought as she went to strike. The twins looked nervous, even Ibiki showed the signs of nervousness and fear. Ibiki's once skilled fast fingers fumbled over the necessary seals to conduct a genjutsu to the enemy, but the one he was fighting batted away the genjutsu, rendering it useless. Meiyo and Nenriki looked at the evil smirks the two that decided to fight them wore and shivered. Drawing a kunai the two cut their finger, and Nenriki launched his sister towards one of them. He went to kick her, but before he could she grabbed onto the leg, pushing the fabric up she applied her blood to the man's skin. He swooned as his body fought to stay awake but fell to the ground, trapping Meiyo under his leg as he did so._

_"Meizu!" the man Nenriki was fighting said as he rushed to the one who was crushing the girl. She attempted to push the leg off of her so she could squirm out of the unconscious trap he put her under. As the man came closer to his sister, Nenriki struck, grabbing the man's wrist with his bloody hand. The man too attempted to fight the black that attacked in the back of his mind, and he toppled onto the man he was rushing too_

_"Agh" Meiyo yelled as she squirmed under the extra pressure. Nenriki rushed to his twin, grabbing her hand and ignoring the pop in his peripheral vision. _

_Ibiki finally landed a hit on the man he was fighting, resorting to taijutsu instead of the genjutsu he preferred to use. The man he fought turned into a puff of smoke when he finally struck the man in the chest with his kunai. Ibiki looked confused._

_Nenriki pulling his twin as she squirmed underneath the two men didn't sense the man behind him, who thrust the katana into the chest of the small boy. Meiyo looked up in horror as her brother screamed in bloody murder. The man twisted the knife as blood flowed even more from the wound. Meiyo didn't notice it but she was screaming. She continued not to notice her screaming until her throat became dry, and cracked from the action. She took in an uneven breath as the man kicked her brother off of the girl and he landed unceremoniously on the small terrified girl. She watched as the life of her brother left his eyes, and a bloody hand of the boy slowly met his sister's. She grasped it as she looked on with wide eyes as the man suddenly cut of the head of her brother, the blood from the new wound went into her once again screaming face, and into her mouth. She gurgled as her brother's blood entered the body and she welcomed the nice quiet black from the back of her mind when compared to the harsh reality of what she had just seen. She looked up with her half-lidded eyes as she watched the man laugh, as his sensei knocked him out from behind. She pushed it to the back of her mind, willed it not be true. In the darkness the thoughts stopped and she slept a dreamless sleep, the best gift the troubled girl could ask for. _

Meiyo took deep strangled breaths as her body calmed down. The image she had blocked had come back along with the memory, she wanted to believe the lies she had created in her mind 'He went on a separate mission and will be back soon' 'It was just a joke, he will pop out of somewhere and I will beat him senseless for the cruel joke' but the girl knew they were just lies, and her mind confirmed it. She wiped the newfound tears in her eyes as she struggled to get up.

"I'll take her home Hokage-sama"

Kuikku picked up the small girl and transported her to her grandfather

"Ojii-san?" Meiyo asked quietly, the image of the man she had killed flashed through her mind as her sensei set her down.

The girl shook her head, her long purple hair swished at the action reminding her that her normally braided hair was down still, and that the bloody kimono was still on her. She shivered at the thought at the thought of the man's blood on her. She felt dirty, filthy

"Next time we go training you are taking more baths"

"I took baths"

"Not when we went on our two month training mission"

"Yes I did, I washed my body in the river"

"That does not count"

"Yes it did, I wet my hair, and washed my body" Meiyo said defensively

"It does not count if you did not use soap"

"Yes it does" Meiyo said, pouting.

"Meiyo?" A voice said as the head of the girl's grandfather peaked around the corner. "Ah, Kuikku-sensei you are here too"

"Do you know why her body changed when she killed?"

"I was looking it up actually" Her grandfather said as he handed Meiyo some clothes to change into. Meiyo took them gratefully and changed quickly before coming back to listen to the explanation that her grandfather had found out "I didn't find out anything, but I do have a theory" He continued seeing the curious girl come around the corner again. "Let's talk in the back room" Trinian said, nodding to the hired help. The hunter-nin followed his student and her grandfather and together they huddled around the small table in the dining room. "I believe that even if her body decided to look like her father rather than her mother, when she kills it activates the Shikyo blood that courses through her veins, causing her to look like the clan that her blood recognizes her to be. I don't quite understand how it works myself, since this is the first time that has been accounted that the Shikyo clan has ever married and bore children outside of the clan." Trinian said as he looked at the two, the sensei looked slightly confused but understood enough to not ask any more questions

"What about the Shinigami thing Ojii-san? Why did that make me change me back to normal? The purple haired girl said, staring at her grandfather.

"There is a legend that goes with a tradition. The legend is that the Shinigami, the death gods, permitted the Shikyo clan the power to kill with simply their blood after being summoned by the head of her Shikyo clan long ago. But in return they wanted the souls that they acquired whenever the clan killed with their blood. The clan then created the tradition to meditate to give the soul back to the Shinigami that let the clan member to use their power. I honestly didn't think that you would have to follow through with the tradition because your blood is only half as powerful as a full-blooded clan member, but I can see I was wrong. Which brings me to my second theory, this one stranger than the first, the Shinigami that you borrow your power from is reminding you, by changing your appearance into that of a Shikyo, that you are not exempt from the tradition." Trinian sighed, realizing just how messed up his clan was to make a deal with death gods. His theories were on the verge of insane, but he had no other explanations for what happened to Meiyo's appearance after she killed.

The sensei bowed and left to tell the Hokage what he had gathered in theories and information about his student's clan. After her sensei left the girl went upstairs and scrubbed her body until it was red and raw. She felt like the man's blood that she spilt had seeped up into the girl's skin, and even when it hurt to dry off she still felt disgusting, she still could feel the hot blood running down her hands and her arms and falling onto the kimono… she shook her head to get rid of the thoughts and pushed them as far away as her mind would let her, along with the death of her twin. She dressed in her pajamas and looked at herself in the mirror, her hands instinctively going to braid her hair before she stopped, and slowly dropped her hands.

"I will never braid my hair again" The girl said quietly as she looked at the picture taped to the mirror, the picture held the image of a pair of purple haired-twins hugging each other, the girl with the braid hugging her brother from behind as a surprise attack, the girl let a small smile light up on her face before she sighed. Putting her hair in a braid reminded her that she was a twin, but now that she no longer was, she didn't want to associate with the Meiyo in the pictures around her "It is time to become a new Meiyo" she said looking up to the girl's reflection, determination in her green eyes "I will learn to live by myself and I will not let myself be dependent on anyone ever again" She said as a tear escaped her eyes. she quickly wiped it away as she curled up in bed. She almost started speaking about what happened that day when she realized that the person she would have talked to was dead. Remembering what she said moments before her downcast eyes closed as she went into a fetal position and fell asleep.


	5. All to Gain Self Confidence

Another big thank you to my two faithful reviewers ReadinFromPhone and LadyAmazon! Also a very special Thank You to Ella Unlimited for your very nice review!

I hope you enjoy this newest update to We Do As We Damn Well Please as much as I enjoyed writing it, I have been itching to just jump into the furure but I keep relaying the next scene in my head and I decide to stay where Meiyo is at now!

Enjoy!

Otakucraze

* * *

Chapter 5

* * *

_Fabric and wind and the feet scuffling on the floor that in turn picked up the dirt that was around them and was the only sounds heard as a sword thrust into the man's stomach_

_The man fell on her_

_Green eyes grew wide as the man she was killing eye's grew wide, the black eyes slowly turned green, the sunlight giving them a silver tint, exactly identical to her eyes. Meiyo gasped as she realized that the man she had just killed was her brother, her breath caught in her breath as she let a gut wrenching scream_

Still screaming with herself in the dream she woke up with a start, her eyes scanning the room and stopped at the bed she would normally go to cuddle with her brother, but her brain, now fully awake, reminded her that she would never do that again. Her small body trembled as the dream she had just had reverberated in her mind's eye.

Meiyo grabbed the small purple blanket and sighing she got off her bed and wrapped the blanket around her shoulders, making it look like a weird cloak. She walked the short distance to her grandfather's room and knocked lightly on the door before slowly opened it, the moonlight cast a bit of light into the room, and the way the window was situated the moonlight was allowed to fall upon the bed, showing a still perfectly made bed. Meiyo was confused before shutting the door and walking downstairs. At the table a mess of papers and scrolls lay and a very exhausted, but relaxed and happy face of her grandfather lay on them, a small bit of drool coming from the side of his mouth. Meiyo felt guilty, the man had no idea how to explain what happened to her, and had theories in which he was probably in the process of concluding and she had fallen asleep after taking a shower. Meiyo felt too guilty to wake the man up to tell him of her nightmare, it would seem cruel and selfish to do that to the old man. But Meiyo still needed comfort, and what she wanted was her brother. Wrapping the small blanket around her frame a little more tightly she ventured outside and walked quietly but still in mental trauma from the nightmare to the memorial stone where the name of her brother was etched in a couple months ago.

She stared at the name of her twin, and just stood there before she crashed on her knees

"I'm so sorry Nenriki, it is all my fault! You died because you were too focused on helping me, you didn't even sense the shinobi behind you, and I couldn't do anything to help because I was idiotic enough to get myself stuck!" Meiyo admitted as tears began to fall from her green eyes. Her image was reflected from the black stone and from the moonlight she was able to see the streaks of the tears running down her face. For just a split second she thought she saw her brother being reflected but once her brain determined it was in fact Meiyo, not Nenriki her tears ran faster down her cheeks. "I want to learn to live by my own accord Nenriki, and not have to depend on anyone else. I never want to feel this alone again, this torn when someone walks out of my life! It's just so _hard_! I never learned how to live alone, I never had too. I find that I am scared just to go into a store, because I don't have you as back up, I don't have you to egg me on in the background. No one can take your place Nenriki; I know that but… but... I want someone to look at me like you did, to comfort me like you did. I find myself etching characters in my arm like we used to but I know you won't answer me. How was I supposed to know it was going to be this hard to live without you Nenriki? How was I supposed to know what to do, how to feel, without you by my side? I miss you so much" Meiyo said, pouring her heart out to the stone in front of her, before she got tired of seeing her face and turning around so her back rested on the cool black surface. She pushed the fabric off of her forearm and wrote the characters for 'I miss you' but it didn't matter, it only made her miss her twin even more, she cuddled into her blanket and rested her head against the stone as she looked up, looking at the twinkling stars above her. The night sky was perfectly clear, not a cloud in the sky, the moon was nearly full and the Meiyo could see the stars in the sky perfectly. As the girl took this information in she started to count the stars, and soon the tired girl fell back asleep, this time dreaming of happy memories of her twin.

Obito was running late that morning, as per usual. He decided to take the shortcut to the training grounds that went towards the stone monument. He stopped at a rumpled curled up bunch of purple fabric lay at the stone, and decided to investigate. Since he was late for training anyway, the little time he spent investigating wouldn't hurt.

Upon getting closer to the weird ball of purple Obito discovered a purple mound of hair a hue darker than the fabric- the blanket, Obito discovered. He crouched down and moved the massive amount of hair to discover it was Meiyo. Obito smiled, she looked peaceful when she slept. He gently nudged her shoulder

"Meiyo-chan" Obito said softly, with no response. He nudged her harder "Meiyo-chan, time to wake up" still no response from the sleeping girl. Now more determined to wake the younger girl up his hand gripped the blanket, a glint of mischief in his eyes as he began to rip it away. One hand from underneath the blanket immediately gripped his hand, the other, like a flash of lightning, came out and punched the poor boy in the gut "OW!" Meiyo's eyes opened; startled by the loud noise so close to her, her eyes quickly scanned the area for the source of the noise when she discovered Obito on his knees holding his gut in pain.

"Obito-san?" Meiyo said, eyes widening as she realized that she had hurt the boy. She bit her lip and crawled out from underneath the blanket, gingerly touching his shoulder "Are you alright?" He looked up at her and grinned, wincing as he moved and said in a voice that was obviously in a forced happy tone

"Never better" he said, eyes crinkling underneath his goggles

"No you're not" Meiyo said simply "I'm sorry I hit you, reflexes" Meiyo said as she shrugged

"Need to go to training" Obito said as he attempted to stand, still holding his gut

"Let me help you" Meiyo said, instantly by his side and forced his arm around her. The boy leaned some of his weight on the younger girl and she helped him to the training grounds.

"YOU ARE LATE" Rin yelled at her teammate, before realizing someone was tagging along. "Meiyo-chan!" Rin said "What are you doing here… in your pajamas?" Rin said, now looking suspiciously between the two. Meiyo grasped for something to say when Obito said

"I was running over, after helping an old lady cross the street, on the roofs of the buildings before I slipped and crashed through her window, waking her up. Since I was injured she helped me to the training ground" Obito said, Meiyo looked up at him in shock

'Did he just lie for me?' Meiyo thought

"Liar" Kakashi said,

"It's true" Meiyo said "He did crash through my window, how else do you explain me being in pajamas, Hatake" Meiyo bit back. Kakashi rolled his eyes as Obito grinned right next to her.

"Well since you are here Meiyo –chan would you like to join our team for a bit of training?" Minato asked the girl

"I'm sure she would love too, but she has some training with me Minato-san" Kuikku said as he appeared out of the shadowing the trees gave him

"Kuikku-sensei!" Meiyo said in shock as she whipped around,

"You are thirty minutes late for training and your Ojii-san is worried sick since he did not find you in your bed, I have been searching for you throughout the village, where were you?" Kuikku said, eyes looked at the young girl in disapproval

"I…I…"

"I crashed through her window and she helped me to the training grounds" Obito said, defending the girl still next to her. Kuikku looked at the boy, instantly not believing him

"Come on Meiyo, Minato-san, if the offer still stands, can our two teams train together with a bit of a spar tomorrow?" Kuikku asked

"Of course" Minato said

Kuikku led the girl to the market place, watching as she looked increasingly embarrassed by what she was wearing

"What are we doing her Kuikku-sensei?"

"Getting you a new outfit"

"Why?" Meiyo said, slightly annoyed she had to go shopping with her sensei in her pajamas

"You know why" The man said simply, causing his student to sigh. He led her to the ninja supply wear for kunoichi "I expect you to wear a skirt, and something that fits you better than those loose shirts you always wear" Meiyo glared.

"A _skirt_? How am I supposed to fight in a _skirt_?"

"You will learn" Kuikku said to the annoyed little girl as he pushed her into the store. He watched as she glared at the clothes, before getting a bunch of black clothes. He took them from her "You may have one article of clothing that is black, close something with more color" He said, enjoying the scoff he got from her. She put back all the black clothes she had gathered and reluctantly picked up a black skirt, putting it in her basket and looked in horror at the other clothes around her. To her disgust most were a bright pink

'How is a kunoichi supposed to hide in that, she would be a moving target!' She thought as she looked around the small store for something a bit more reasonable. After going through countless bright clothing in her size she came across something she liked, a sleeveless jacket that had a hood. It was a deep purple, matching her hair, and had splattered lavender and navy. She eagerly picked out her size and placed the article of clothing in her basket. She looked at the rest of the clothing and smirked

'Two can play this game sensei' Meiyo thought as she walked to a pair of arm warmers that were the same dark purple as the jacket, and had a black ribbon wrapping around it, she put the pair into her basket and found a pair of leggings in the same color. Meiyo smirked as she bought them and her sensei waited patiently for her to change. When she came out of the changing room she did a quick turn for her sensei for her new outfit in the dark colors, smirking when the look of irritation was etched into his face.

"Return it"

"No"

"You know what I meant by a new outfit, new colors"

"Those colors don't make sense" Meiyo said, grabbing a hot pink top "If I wore this on a mission I would instantly be targeted and killed, this outfit" Meiyo said as she put the top back and gestured to her outfit "Makes more sense, I can stay hidden," Meiyo said triumphantly, causing an irritated sigh from her sensei as he dragged his hand over his face. He looked at the smirking girl, she already knew that she won and was acting triumphant. She had a point though, but then as a thought occurred in his head he couldn't help but smirk. His student noticed and her triumphant attitude left as quickly as it came.

"Why don't we make an agreement" Kuikku said, an evil grin slowly showing up on his features "You can wear that outfit on missions, and you choose a new one for everyday wear around Konoha" Meiyo paled, it was hard enough to find the outfit she was wearing, how was she going to choose an entirely different outfit…. Meiyo stopped the thought before she too smirked

"Okay"

"Bright colors"

"Whatever you say sensei" Meiyo said as she went back in the shop, her sensei looking at her oddly.

'Did she just completely agree with me?' The man thought.

Meiyo grabbed the exact same skirt she was wearing and made her way over to where the sleeveless jacket she was wearing was at, meandering through different shades and styles before picking out a blue sleeveless jacket. This one was different than the one she was wearing, it had swooping vertical lines of different hues of blue, and even though blue was not her favorite color, and she could live with it. There no splatters on the jacket, just five different hues, ranging from a navy that could easily be mistaken for black, to a light sky blue. Meiyo found the purple arm warmers that she had on again and matched a blue with the sky blue before grabbing navy leggings and purchased them.

'Kuikku-sensei never told me to find a different outfit, just brighter colors' Meiyo thought while grinning mischievously.

Meiyo purchased the clothes and her sensei pointed to the changing room for her to change into the new outfit. Meiyo didn't like what she saw in the mirror, she had never been one for light colors, it made her stand out, and although the blue wasn't as bright as the other clothes in the store. Meiyo did not want to leave the changing room because she felt extremely self conscious.

"Meiyo, are you done yet?" Her sensei called from outside the door. In the darker version of the outfit she was wearing she wouldn't be noticed as much, yes the clothes fit her better than her brother's old clothes, which she had been wearing, and would be noticed slightly for that, but otherwise she would disappear in a crowd. In the outfit she was wearing it contrasted her hair, being very complimentary, and the colors fit, but she was not used to wearing a skirt, which she self consciously tugged the end of it to go further down her thigh. "Meiyo, I am not afraid to bust down this door" her sensei threatened. Meiyo took a deep breath and closed her slightly frightened eyes and opened the door. She heard a gasp from the direction of the counter and she opened one eye slowly and saw the person behind the register was gasping at a necklace that a boy was giving her. She opened both eyes and let the breath she was holding out slowly, calming her nerves. She could still blend into the background, she tried to convince herself. She looked up at her sensei to see him smiling.

"You look nice" He complemented "Now time for your training"

"What am I going to be doing?" Meiyo asked as she followed her sensei out of the store.

"I am not saying for the next 30 minutes"

"Why not?"

"You made me wait for you for 30 minutes and I will now make you wait for 30 minutes before telling you what you will be doing today for training." Kuikku said as he heard the scoff from his student. "Walk around Konoha" He said before disappearing in a cloud of smoke, leaving behind an annoyed purple-haired girl in his absence. Meiyo walked to her grandfather's shop, it counted as walking around Konoha, and dropped off the bag with her new outfit, and winced at her hair in the mirror, now finally noticing her face, rather than her new clothes. She had twigs and grass in her hair that was sticking in all sorts of directions. She sighed, remembering that she never had to worry about her hair before, and picked out the bits out of her hair and sprayed her purple locks with water and brushed the knots out of her hair, wincing when she came to a knot. After five minutes of brushing her hair she brought her hair together about five inches from the ends and tied it, so it would stay semi organized, and left her house, waving to her grandfather, who was obviously told not too long ago that she was fine, and the help he had.

Once outside she was reminded that she was not wearing dark colors and began to feel the self-consciousness well back up when people began to notice her. She kept her green eyes on the ground and roamed around the village. A loud poof came from in front of her and she looked up startled.

"You are too self-conscious Meiyo" Kuikku said to the girl "The object of today's training is to give you courage"

"I have courage" Meiyo said, pouting

"On missions, but when you are dressed to not drift in the background, your eyes are on the ground. Meiyo you are a very pretty girl, and you are a kunoichi, you should be brimming with self-confidence!" Kuikku said, and kneeled in front of the troubled girl, gripping her shoulders gently. "I know that it is hard to live without your twin, but I know that you are a good kunoichi now, and in the future you will be widely known and feared, and I want to help you get to that point."

Meiyo looked at her sensei's eyes as they started to tear up.

"You think I am a good kunoichi?"

"Yes, but now we need to make you better" Kuikku said, eyes crinkling as her smiled. Meiyo quickly wiped the tears away before they could descend down her face and watched as her sensei stood up again. "First, I want you to walk with confidence" Meiyo attempted to do so and her sensei cringed, it looked like she was walking with something between her legs. "No , like you are going to prank someone" Kuikku corrected, Meiyo looked at him confused before shrugging her shoulders and crouching slightly as she walked slowly and deliberately, without making a sound. Kuikku sighed. "Walk as if you are about to prank Hatake Kakashi with the best prank you have ever pulled and he has no idea what to suspect" Kuikku said, as he raked his fingers over his face. Meiyo straightened up, rolled her shoulders back and looked forward a look of determination and mischief in her eyes as she walked with a fierce confidence. Kuikku wanted to scream in joy. "Perfect" Kuikku said as he caught up with his student walking next to her. "Now I want you to walk up this street, ignoring anyone who looks your way, shrug off anyone who tries to talk to you, and just continue to walk the streets of Konoha. Don't let your guard down though, because when I feel like you are ready I will attack you and see how flexible you can be with your new outfit." Meiyo nodded at her sensei's words and he disappeared in a puff of smoke. Meiyo walked the streets and did exactly what her sensei said, even though whenever someone looked at her she had to fight the urge to look down. Thoughts plagued her mind as she asked herself

'How did I become so shy?'

'This was easier to do with Nenriki around'

'Is Nenriki the reason I ever had confidence, and when he wasn't there I lost it? Have I placed confidence in the wrong thing when I should have placed it in myself?'

Meiyo shook the thoughts out of her head reminding herself she had to stay focused. She knew what her sensei was doing. She was being trained on how to detect someone's chakra, even if they attempt to hide it. Meiyo was good at hiding her chakra, she had been told this by a couple Jounin, but when it came to detecting someone else's chakra she was terrible at it. Meiyo focused, while attempting to complete her sensei's confidence training, which was proving to be increasingly difficult when some boys a little older than her asked what her name was, distracting her. She shrugged them off, and kept walking, doing exactly what her sensei said while still attempting to make her senses go out as far as they could to detect her sensei. Once the girl was in the middle of a crossroad her hearing picked up something flying her way. She dodged it, by doing two back flips and turned while upside down to face the direction the kunai had come from. Scanning the area she found nothing, but she couldn't rely on sight alone, and focused on making her hear even farther than what she was listening to at the moment. She closed her eyes and got into a good stance as she forced her sense of smell to go further, to smell anything that wasn't in the immediate area. Her ears heard the telltale sound of kunai coming from both her left and her right and she cursed under her breath when she opened her eyes to see they were a little too close to do a back flip to dodge. Without anything better to do to evade the coming attack Meiyo bent her knees as she fell to the ground slowly and gracefully, catching herself by her elbows as she got as close to the ground since she misjudged how low the kunai had been thrown. Her muscles screamed as her calves were touching her thighs and her shins rested on the ground. Her feet were in pain from the strain she was placing them under. Her head was two inches from the ground as she watched in slight shock as the kunai barely zipped by her nose and body from both sides. Looking past the kunai she looked on with wide eyes at her sensei falling right above her with a katana drawn and ready to take the blow. Meiyo used her elbows as leverage as she pushed with her feet to do a back flip barely missing her sword as it crashed down right where her chest used to be. Meiyo took in a large amount of air after she let out the breath she had been holding from when the kunai had flown only centimeters from her body. Her breaths were coming in ragged and her leg muscles could no longer hold the girl up after being used in such a strange way and she dropped to her knees. Kuikku pulled the sword out of the dirt and placed it back in its sheath.

"I think we are done for today, good job evading Meiyo, I will meet you at the training grounds tomorrow. Remember we are training with Team Minato. You will probably be paired up to spar against Hatake, so think of a good plan to beat him in the spar." Kuikku said to his tired student as she shakily got to her feet, her muscles still protesting from the latest strain she had put them through. "And Meiyo, I forbid you to use blood in the spar" Her sensei said after making sure no one was around. The tired girl looked at her sensei with a scowl on her face.

"How am I going to beat him if I can't use blood?"

"I don't know, but I am sure you can think of something" he said as he began to walk away from the still scowling girl "Weren't you notorious for pranking him when you were younger?" Kuikku said as a smirk that was hidden to the girl appeared on his face as he jumped on a roof to get to his apartment, leaving a scowling girl in his wake. She appeared to be thinking, but when no ideas came into her mind, and seeing that her stomach was rumbling loudly for food she decided to go home to get quench the hunger. She hoped that she could come up with a sure-fire way to not only beat her nemesis, but also to embarrass the gray-haired masked boy to hell.


	6. The Reoccurance of the Green Goop

In celebration of 300 readers of We Do As We Damn Well Please I decided to pop out this chapter early.

Thank you once again LadyAmazon for your lovely review!

Read Enjoy and Review!

-Otakucraze

* * *

Chapter 6

* * *

The seven year old woke up and went to the bathroom to do her morning routine. She brushed her long slightly wavy purple locks slowly, thinking of a plan to embarrass the Hatake; the night before she couldn't fall asleep as possible ideas popped in and out of her head. She looked in the mirror past herself brushing her hair to the door that once frequently used "play room" that ended up being the twins' experiment room. Finishing up her hair by placing it in a loose ponytail she went to the door and opened it. The room held one small window that allowed the small amount of sunrays into the room. It was dawn after all. The sunlight that filled the room showed a mess actually. Nenriki and Meiyo never cleaned this room, and their grandfather never fixed the room up either, always mumbling "It will just happen again" under his breath when an explosion left a dent in the wall, or flames licked up the drywall. The twins didn't mind, it gave the room character. Meiyo scanned the room, smiling at the dents, the scorches, and the splatters that filled the small room. She looked at the table that took up about half the room that was found in the middle that had four large pots as Meiyo remembered the countless recipes they had made to make the perfect green goop. It had taken them two months, and a lot of grocery trips for their parents, but when it was finished it was used often. Meiyo chuckled lightly at the first time they used the infamous green goop, it was the day the twins had found out their parents had died, on the Hatake. Meiyo walked past the mortar and pistol, the boxes of gelatin, pudding and the jar of jam. The room had built in shelves that went around the entire room, stopping only for the door and window. Meiyo touched the old recipe card with her childlike scribbles and smiled. A large line came from one of the characters when Nenriki pulled the pen away and a game of tug of war began to finish the recipe. Nenriki had won, and Meiyo lightly touched his childlike writing and realized just how much she missed him, again. She wiped the tears from her eyes as an idea formed in her head. She looked at the huge pot and smirked. For old times' sake why not make a batch?

She needed the last ingredient.

Meiyo took off her sandals and rolled up the bottom of her leggings in preparation to collect the ingredient that made the recipe disgusting. Meiyo trudged through the slow moving stream and using a kunai and a plate scrapped off the moss and algae from the rocks. It couldn't be wet, it had to be dry or the recipe wouldn't work out right. Walking home with a large plate of algae and her sandals in her other hand she went over her plan again, checking for flaws and coming up with some ways the Hatake would combat it, and how her plan would evolve if he did certain actions, but still make its way to the finale that she wanted. She kept mulling over the process as she ground up the algae making it into a fine powder and adding the pudding mix, the gelatin and a large spoonful of the jam, pouring water from her canteen she mixed it until it was smooth and poured it into a balloon, and putting it into the refrigerator. The gelatin needed to sit and chill for the best results and Meiyo went back to her room practiced her pan in small scale.

A couple hours later the balloons with the green goop were finished she placed them on a scroll and placed the necessary character to make the green goop balloons disappear until summoned. She placed the small scroll on her hip with her shuriken and kunai. She left the house waving goodbye to her grandfather in the process and went to the training grounds. By the time she got there only Hatake and Rin were there, and without a word she leapt up on a tree branch and got comfortable. Minato and Kuikku came at the same time by puff of smoke and the group waited for the last person to arrive… Obito.

Meiyo was bored after five minutes and was trying to entertain herself in various ways. Currently she was making faces at an annoyed and irritated Hatake while hanging upside down from the tree branch she was in earlier, Rin was picking at her nails, once in a while looking at her crush, before going back to her nails. Minato was smiling at the two while Kuikku had his head in his hand, wondering what he had done wrong to make his star pupil act like such a child. Boredom hit the seven year old once again as the boy she was making faces at turned his back to her. Sighing she flipped and landed gracefully on her feet. Meiyo looked at the shadows in the area and determined she had been waiting for ten minutes.

"I am going to go get him" Meiyo said before disappearing in a puff of smoke before her sensei could discourage her. She appeared in front of the Uchiha complex. Hiding her chakra signature she crept in and used this time to train in the area of chakra signatures. She hopped on the nearest roof silently and searched for her friend's chakra signature, but didn't sense it; she slowly crept through the complex on the roofs of the houses until she found it. She was proud of herself because it was a farther distance than it usually took for her to find the chakra signature she was looking for, which was about 30 feet in front of her, on the second level of the house next to the one she was on. Meiyo noted that Hatake could probably sense familiar chakra signatures from 100 feet away, but she pushed the thought aside. Carefully jumping over the gap, using chakra to further her leap onto the next building successfully, she focused on the exact area Obito's chakra signature was. Going to the rear of the house she skillfully hopped in through the window, landing silently once again. She looked at the Uchiha paraphernalia that was scattered throughout the room and to the twin size bed that the Uchiha she was looking for was at. He was still sleeping and the girl smiled at the comforter that covered him, it had the Uchiha symbol big and bold in the middle. Meiyo quietly walked over to the boy, careful to step over the outfit the boy usually wore and poked him on the forehead.

She received no response.

She lightly pushed his shoulder.

He rolled on his side.

She shoved him.

He moaned and rolled onto his stomach, putting his head underneath his pillow muttering "ten more minutes"

Annoyed that she would have to resort to it she grabbed the small scroll and summoned the green goop balloons, and decided to give him one more chance

"Obito-san, wake up" Meiyo said forcefully

"Twenty more minutes" Obito muttered underneath his pillow. Growling the girl threw the pillow and blanket off of him off of him and dropped the balloon on his head. The balloon split open on contact, the cold green goop splashing over his once warm body. Obito screamed in shock and was up in a flash, the green goop falling over the rest of his body by force of gravity. He had a kunai in his hand and was in a battle stance. Meiyo was on the floor clutching her stomach as her fits of laughter overcame her

"Quiet up there! Do you want to wake Itachi?" A woman yelled as Meiyo used a hand to cover up the giggles

"Sorry Ocaa-san" Obito yelled as he glared at the younger girl. "How did you get in here" He whispered

"I snuck in" Meiyo said between giggles "Who's Itachi?"

"The neighbor's son, they claim he is going to be amazing, since his father is Fugaku"

"Ah" Meiyo said "You are late" Meiyo said as she ushered the boy to get dressed as she sat at his desk and looked through his notebooks after hiding the remaining balloons within the scroll.

"Almost done"

"You better be, or I will resort to another balloon filled with green goop" Meiyo threatened.

"Done" Obito said as he grabbed Meiyo's hand and ran downstairs "I'm off Ocaa-san"

"Quiet Obito, Itachi is still sleeping" his mother called back at him. The two raced down the streets of the Uchiha complex, and many of the Uchihas raised their eyebrows at the younger purple-haired girl that was with the loud-mouthed goggled Uchiha.

Once at the training grounds Obito started his traditional lie and Meiyo shook her head at him.

"I was on my way here when…"

"Whatever can we get this over with?" Meiyo interrupted.

"Of course" Minato said as he let Kuikku pair the four up

"Kakashi-chan with Meiyo-chan, first" Kuikku said the two seven year olds got into a fighting stance.

"Begin" Minato said. Kakashi began rapidly firing kunai as Meiyo jumped to the trees, going from one end of the clearing to the next, before dashing right past him and disappearing in a mess of hand seals. Hiding her chakra signature she waited on a tree branch, taking out her scroll. Sing a tiny bit of chakra she summoned the balloons and let one drop as she went to another part of the clearing to get a better visual as the balloon hit its target directly on the head, Hatake's gravity defying hair could not stay up with the goop hanging off of it and Meiyo grinned at the extremely angry eyes that Hatake had, she could see him scowling under his mask, making her evil grin widen in delight.

A kunai went across the clearing and Meiyo yelped as she dodged by dropping to the ground. Her eyes widened as Hatake started to do hand seals.

"Plan A part B paragraph 34, Hatake using ninjutsu" Meiyo said under her breath, just loud enough to be picked up by the Jounin. Kuikku grinned in delight since his pupil had taken account of anything happening in her plan, and Minato gave a very respectful gaze in her direction. Hatake had finished his hand seals and his hand began to grow white and the noise sounded like a lot of birds chirping.

"Chidori" Hatake yelled and ran towards Meiyo, the green goop flying off his face and shoulders from the action as he did so. Meiyo jumped to the branch above her and jumped from the branch to the spot where Hatake had started. She had never seen this jutsu before and she needed to mend her plan with the new surprise so it still had the same end result. Hatake had ran up a tree and flipped so he could still run towards the girl. Meiyo had to think of something fast. Her hands started to do the only fire jutsu that she knew and blew a fire ball at the Hatake, who jumped to evade the attack. Meiyo jumped to the side at the last minute and Hatake's hand flew into the tree that was behind where she was standing. Meiyo looked shocked at the damage that was done to the tree by the jutsu. Hatake took deep breaths and Meiyo smirked, that jutsu used a lot of chakra and the Hatake did not have enough to do the same jutsu twice, Meiyo noted, but just by barely. Meiyo got up and decided to end part B and go straight to part C. She aimed a roundhouse kick to the boy's head. He ducked down and knocked her other foot from under her. She landed hard on her back as she put her hands behind her shoulders and did a flip to stand up again. She panted heavily and took out two kunai and threw them at Hatake. He just stood still and the kunai flew past him, two feet on either side of his head and Meiyo could see him smirk, which made her smirk.

"Your aim sucks" He mentioned

"You sure about that?" She asked as she twisted her fingers around something unseen in the air, causing Hatake to raise an eyebrow as she pulled the invisible thread. The two kunai that were thrown made their way back toward the Hatake and Meiyo used her leg to force down more of the thread, causing the kunai to actually go towards its intended target this time. Hatake looked at Meiyo as if she was crazy as she grabbed more thread with her right hand and pulled, causing the kunai to stop, just barely hitting the Hatake's neck. His eyes grew wide as his head rushed to think what Meiyo did to place the thread and his mind instantly went to the beginning of the battle. Meiyo scowl turned to a smirk when her left hand went above her head and pulled, the scroll with the two remaining balloons fell towards the Hatake, reapplying the green goop that was starting to dry to get two extra layers. The Hatake glared at the girl as she dropped the thread, the kunai dropping to the ground because of the action as her grin slowly got wider. "I win" Meiyo said before skipping to her sensei. Kuikku patted the girls head in pride.

"Good job Meiyo" Kuikku said to his pupil. She looked over to the other boy on Hatake's team and saw to her amusement that he was laughing so hard that he was rolling on the ground.

Surprisingly, to Meiyo, the fight between Rin and Obito ended with a tie as Obito tripped over a rock in the clearing and let go of his kunai as he did which flew to Rin and hit her in the head, hilt first, and knocked her unconscious. Obito hit his head on a rock as he fell causing him to have the same fate as his opponent. Meiyo's mouth was open wide at the fight.

'Did that actually happen? Did two Chuunins just knock each other unconscious by tripping and getting hit by the hilt of a kunai?'

Minato sighed and took the two to the hospital and Hatake glared at the only girl remaining in the clearing and followed his sensei's example and left.

"How about I take you to get some ramen?" Kuikku said to his student

"Okay" Meiyo said in delight. So far, today had been the best day of her life since her brother had died.


	7. And Hell Started With A Bowl of Ramen

Wow! Another 100 have read We Do As We Damn Well Please in just one day! Thisis a cause of celebration! I am so glad people are enjoying this story as much as I do! And the reviews for the last chapter made me so happy! I had a LOT of fun writing this chapter and I hope that you have fun reading it!

Thank you to my reviewers: ReadinFromPhone, LadyAmazon, Ella Unlimited, and Fyen!

Read, Enjoy, and Review!

-Otakucraze

* * *

Chapter 7

* * *

Meiyo happily slurped down the remaining ramen noodles and threw her head back to drink the remaining ramen broth.

"Yum, thank you Kuikku-sensei!" Meiyo chirped happily, now that her stomach was full.

"I graduated!" A boy said as he ambled through the crowd and to the ramen stand. Meiyo scooted back from disgust when she saw the boy. He had shiny black hair in the form of a bowl cut and the biggest eyebrows she had ever seen! Her sensei noticed her discomfort and led her away before the boy yelled "Hatake Kakashi, my eternal rival, remember me?"

Hatake, who had just finished taking a shower from the looks of his damp silver locks, had been minding his own business with his hands in his pockets and walking up the street when the boy interrupted his thought. He looked up at the boy who was talking to him and groaned.

"Maito Gai" He said through gritted teeth

"You said I would never become a Genin and I am proud to say, because of my youthfulness, I graduated the academy!"

Meiyo could see he was pretending to ignore the boy as he looked over the stands of food on the opposite side of the ramen shop. Kuikku just looked on silently, slightly entertained.

"I'm sorry, did you say something?" He said coolly. Meiyo smiled, this was definitely entertaining her.

Maito Gai looked hurt as he rested his forearm on his forehead

"Oh," He bounced back just as quickly "Kakashi-san you are so hip and cool" Meiyo looked at the bushy browed boy as if he were insane "I challenge you to a duel"

"What?" Hatake said, eyes widening slightly in surprise

"To prove to you I am destined to become a great ninja I challenge you to a… to a…"

"Race?" Meiyo interjected, now highly amused. Maito Gai looked back at the girl and Meiyo wished she hadn't said anything. It was Hatake who now looked amused.

"You" the boy said as he pointed in Meiyo's direction "Are full of youthfulness I can see it!" Instantly he was at her feet and he had somehow grabbed her hand.

"Eeep" Meiyo said, struggling to get her hand out of the boy's grasp.

"What is your name oh youthful maiden?"

"Get off of me" Meiyo said, now using her foot as leverage in a futile attempt to get out of Gai's grasp

"Oh the youthful fire burns inside of you" Gai said dramatically as he put his forearm once again on his forehead. Meiyo looked at him in terror, until she heard a light chuckle come from Hatake's direction. Her eyes narrowed at him in anger.

"Weren't you going to challenge Hatake to a race?" Meiyo said voice deep in mischief. Hatake stopped chuckling and in turn glared at the girl.

"Yes" Gai said happily as he let go of Meiyo's hand, making her clutch it gently with her other hand. Glaring daggers in the back of the weird boy "First to finish 10 laps around Konoha wins" Meiyo smirked

"Just 10, why not 100?" Meiyo interjected

"Your youthful flames seem to grow ever brighter, yes 100 laps around Konoha" Hatake increased his glare at the girl and she simply smirked and stuck her tongue out at him

"What do I get if I win?" Hatake asked as Meiyo began to drink her water

"A date with the lovely youthful girl over there of course" Gai said and Meiyo spit her water out in shock, causing Hatake to grin underneath his mask as he thought of the many ways he could get back at her.

"What?" Meiyo said "I never agreed to that!" She yelled

"Fine forget Kakashi-san, will you go to the festival with me?" Gai said, once again grasping Meiyo's hand and wiggling his massive eyebrows at her. She gaped at him.

"I... I can't" she said simply, once again trying to get her hand out of his grasp and ending in failure.

"Why not?" Gai said the wiggling from his caterpillar-like eyebrows ceasing and he looked as if he were about to cry. Meiyo inched away as far as she could with the boy still grasping his hand

"Because… Because I am going with someone else" She lied. Hatake caught it instantly

"Who are you going with?" He said evilly and Gai let her hand go, to Meiyo's delight. She looked around frantically when she came across her old teammate. She jumped off the chair and dashed over to Ibiki, winding her arm with his

"Help me" she whispered

"With what?"

"Go to the festival with me?" She said, he looked down at the purple-haired girl looking desperately at him

"Fine" she grinned "But you owe me big time"

"Of course" she said as she turned him to the two boys "I am going with Ibiki-kun!" Hatake looked slightly shocked and Gai looked heartbroken "So, are you going to race Hatake around the village 100 times or what?" She asked, making the disheartened boy bounce back in joy. Meiyo looked at Hatake and asked "Or are you too scared a recently promoted Genin will beat you?" Glaring at Meiyo once more, and to Meiyo's delight, the two ran around Konoha, as the purple haired girl laughed at her accomplishment.

* * *

The festival was set for next week and a couple days after meeting Maito Gai Meiyo had her birthday. She didn't want anything big, and she did not tell anyone that her birthday was coming up, so on the day she turned eight Meiyo and her grandfather where eating a home cooked meal to celebrate, since the occasion reminded the girl of her brother, and how he was not here, she refused to go out and celebrate properly, instead wanting it to be just another day rather than a joyous celebration of birth. Meiyo had told her grandfather she didn't want a present, but the old man gave her one anyway.

Meiyo tenderly opened the rice paper wrapping to reveal a katana, one that had purple accents that matched her hair

"Thank you Ojii-san!" Meiyo said happily as she looked at it thoroughly. She didn't bother testing the blade; her grandfather sharpened the blades until they were pristinely sharp. The hilt was a mixture of deep purple and black ribbons, with a bright silver guard; the hamon was an elegant violet and shone furiously against the silver. Inspecting it further there was a seal engraved on the blade above the black blade collar, and Meiyo didn't recognize it. She touched the circle with the character for four in the middle.

"What is this?" Meiyo asked

"The Shikyo clan symbol" He grandfather said, and Meiyo now knew why the number four was chosen. Four sounds like the word death.

"Ojii-san" Meiyo asked "Is It normal for someone in the branch family to marry the main branch?"

"No, you need to do something very special for the clan to marry the main branch"

"What did you do then?" Meiyo asked, sheathing her new katana

"I created the bunshin bracelets. It was by accident really, I honestly don't remember how I did it, I remember pouring silver into two mold and then my memory blanks, but because of that achievement I was married to your Obaa-san" he said.

"So there are only two bracelets"

"Yes, I gave the one you are wearing to the official and stole it back when I left, giving it to your mother instead"

"Ah" Meiyo said as she yawned "I'm going to bed, night Ojii-san"

"Happy birthday Meiyo"

* * *

With the festival coming up Meiyo's sensei took great pleasure in forcing another shopping trip for a kimono on his student.

"Do I have to wear a stupid kimono?"

"Yes it is a tradition"

"Well traditions suck"

"Hn"

"How am I going to fight if I am restricted by long fabric and those stupid wooden shoes that are hard to balance in?"

"Simple, you won't be fighting"

"But what if-"

"Just choose a kimono Meiyo" Kuikku said, growing ever more irritated by the young girl that walked beside him.

"Fine"

Meiyo's self confidence had began to blossom under Kuikku's little tasks. Meiyo was becoming less shy and more confident and was making her sensei proud.

Kuikku pushed the girl into a kimono shop and waited outside, leaning against the pole of the overhang as he waited. Meiyo came out with her prize, a kimono that was folded and wrapped in rice-paper; another rice-paper wrapped obi was on top. Meiyo made her way over to her house and set the two packages on her brother's bed.

She crashed on her bed looking at the ceiling as she thought of the festival that was to be taken place the next night. Meiyo tended to avoid large festivities after the death of her parents, and instead took to cleaning the shop, since her grandfather let the help take the day off. In all reality she wanted to help her grandfather clean the shop tomorrow rather than go to a stupid festival that she was forced into going by caterpillar eyebrows and the Hatake. She thought of how much work it was going to take to get herself into the kimono and then her _hair_! She was going to have to go to a salon and have to pay for someone to pull and tug at her hair until it was up the way they wanted it for an hour before the actual preparations to get the kimono on took place. She groaned, she hated kimonos, she would prefer to wear that wretched skirt than a kimono, hell she would rather wear a frilly hot pink dress and have a matching bow in her hair than wear a kimono! She sighed as she rolled over and stuffed her face into her pillow, tomorrow was going to be a long day, and her sensei was bound and determined to make sure she looked like the traditional girls her age by the day's end.

* * *

Meiyo awoke to her sensei dragging her out of bed and into her bathroom, screaming and protesting along the way. Once the door was closed he instructed her to take a shower and that they would make their way over to the salon. She yelled back that she needed clothes and he opened the door a crack to throw her casual outfit in the bathroom and closing the door right after. She turned the water on in the shower in anger.

'It's not even _dawn_ yet' the girl thought angrily 'And he charges in here and takes me from my nice warm bed to throw me onto the cold bathroom floor to take a shower to ready my hair for the torture that will ensue.' Meiyo thought, resisting the urge to throw something or punch her fist through something. She locked the door to the bathroom and undressed shivering as she waited for the water to heat up to the right temperature before climbing in. She quickly shampooed and conditioned her hair and washed her body before just standing underneath the hot water, letting it pound into her back as the water began to relax the muscles that would be tense for the next hour as women pulled and prodded her hair and scalp. Once relaxed the girl turned off the water and began to dry herself off quickly, willing her body to get used to the cold temperature as she quickly looked through her clothes for her under things… to realize they weren't there.

"Sensei?" She asked through the door, there was no answer, and she creaked open the door, towel wrapped close to her body as she scanned her room before dashing to her dresser and grabbing the necessary garments and dashing back to the bathroom and closing and locking the door. She quickly dressed and towel dried her hair, and slowly brushed her hair at her vanity, reminding herself that this was prolonging the torture.

Her sensei stormed into the room and grabbed the fully dressed girl and dragged her to the salon. The two waited in line for about thirty minutes as Meiyo was trying to fend off the boredom by flipping through a magazine.

"Kodowari Meiyo" A women called and Meiyo was dragged over by her sensei. "What hairdo would you like for the festival?" The woman asked

"The twin braided odango Hairstyle" Meiyo said, the hairstylist gave her a smile at the very simple hairstyle the girl asked for.

"She's kidding she wants the Shimada hairstyle" Kuikku said and the hairstylist looked at him

"You want her to have a geisha hairstyle?"

"Yes I do" Kuikku smiled and kissed the hairstylist on the lips. Meiyo's eyes widened "Or just make her have a hairstyle that is elegant" Kuikku said

"Alright, while I am doing this can you go home and make sure the kids are awake?" She asked and Kuikku smiled and nodded. With her husband gone the hairstylist went to work fully drying the girl's hair before brushing it

"OW!" Meiyo screamed for the hundredth time

"This wouldn't happen if you just brush your hair" The hairstylist said as she struggled to get the hairbrush out of the purple locks.

"I _did_ brush my hair" Meiyo countered "STOP PULLING" Meiyo said as she whipped back and grabbed the hairbrush.

Giggling from the customer to her right caught the girl's attention

"What are you laughing at?" Meiyo seethed at the woman

"Nothing, you remind me of myself when I was young" the lady said, giving her blueish green eyes a quick meander over the scowling girl

"Who are you?"

"Uzumaki Kushina and you are?"

"Kodowari Meiyo"

"Nice to meet you" She said before asking her stylist "Am I finished?" the lady nodded and the woman got up, her red hair in a very elegant updo with a red Kanzashi rose in her hair. She motioned for the girl to give her the hairbrush and Kushina gently tugged at the knots at the ends of the girl's hair. Meiyo winced, but it wasn't as painful as before. Once the knots were out she brushed the entire length of Meiyo's hair. "There" She said and hooked her hand underneath Meiyo's arm "How much does she owe?" The redhead asked and the hairstylist scowled

"For all the yelling I should say 20 Ryou"

"But in reality?"

"5 Ryou" Kushina paid the lady for her hairdo and for Meiyo's brushed hair and led her out of the salon

"Uzumaki-san, where are you taking me?"

"Please call me Kushina-san, and to my house. I'll do your hair, and help you with your kimono if you'd like"

"Really?"

"Of course, where is your kimono?"

"My house" Meiyo said happily as she led the older woman to the weapon shop and went in through the side door since today the shop was closed. Meiyo leapt up the stairs to her room and in the process woke her grandfather up "Ohaiyo Ojii-san" Meiyo said cheerfully

"Ohaiyo" her grandfather said through a yawn "What are you up to Meiyo-chan?"

"Getting ready for the festival, I am getting my kimono so Kushina-san can help me with it and my hair" Meiyo said while grinning.

"Ah, wait here" her grandfather said and came back with a paper box; he lifted the lid and let his granddaughter look inside. Resting on the black velvet lay a silver kanzashi, it was a three silver Sakura flowers that had a dash of violet running up the petals. It was very beautiful and Meiyo took it out with gentle fingers, treating the kanzashi as if it were very fragile "It was your mothers" he said, happy that his granddaughter liked the hair accessory as much as her mother did when he showed her the fruits of his labor. Meiyo gave her grandfather a big hug in his middle and he tenderly hugged her back. He was glad that she was becoming more and more like her old self again.

Meiyo jumped down the length of stairs to the awaiting redhead.

Kushina led the girl to her home where she diligently worked at taming Meiyo's tresses of purple hair. Kushina put it up in an elegant updo and placed the girl's kanzashi in her hair. The two helped each other put on their kimonos and at noon the two looked very elegant and beautiful.

"Would you like some lunch Meiyo?" The woman asked as she led her to the kitchen

"If it's not too much trouble"

"None at all, I made it last night, just has to be heated up" Kushina said as she took out the soup and put it in three bowls and placed them in the microwave. "My husband should be home shortly," The older woman mused to herself and motioned for Meiyo to sit at the table "So tell me about yourself" Kushina asked the young girl

"Well what do you want to know?" Meiyo asked, now slightly suspicious of the lady in front of her

"Do you have siblings, what rank you are, that sort of thing" She said, before she noticed the girl's apprehension, sighing "Well I live here with my husband, we are trying to have a child. Um," Kushina looked to the ceiling and put her index finger on her chin as she thought "Ah, I was a kunoichi, I am actually one of the refugees from whirlpool, I came here as an orphan, my parents died in whirlpool. I have no siblings and before I retired myself, I guess you could say, I was a Jounin" She said to the girl who now looked more comfortable talking about herself

"I had a sibling, a twin, he was ten minutes older, and I am a Chuunin." Meiyo said

"Ah, do you have a boyfriend yet? You are pretty enough to have one. Meiyo stuck out her tongue in disgust

"Ew, no" Meiyo said causing the older woman to chuckle. Meiyo was going to say something when the two head the door open

"Kushina, I'm home" I familiar voice said as a familiar man rounded the corner, showing Konoha's Yellow Flash and Hatake Kakashi's sensei, Minato. Meiyo's eyes widened as Kushina rose to greet her husband with a hug and a quick peck on the lips

"We have company" She whispered when Minato's hand started heading to her rear. Minato looked up to see a familiar but unusually feminine looking Kodowari Meiyo

"Meiyo-chan!" He said happily, stopping the decent of his hand to his wife's rear and stepped away from her, causing the woman to giggle.

"Minato-sensei" Meiyo said, looking at the two wide-eyed. She hadn't expected that. Meiyo almost giggled at Minato's face when he started sniffing the air, looking quite cat-like when he did so

"Mmm, is that the soup from last night?" Minato asked Kushina who looked at him as if she were saying 'Duh' to the older man. "Meiyo-chan you are in for a treat, Kushina-chan makes the most amazing food, and her soup is far the best you will ever have!" Minato gushed, his stomach rumbling in agreement. Kushina's cheeks got a red tinge to them and Minato grinned at it. The microwave beeped and Kushina headed towards the machine when Minato swept her up and set her in a chair "I'll get it" He said as he nuzzled her neck, causing her to giggle and her face to redden since she knew that he was doing it on purpose to embarrass her in front of their guest Minato placed a hot and steamy bowl of soup in front of the girl and was given a chirirenge and its rest and Meiyo gladly dug into the meal after thanking her host. One sip of the broth was enough for Meiyo to spurt out a very long

"Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm" She had never tasted anything more amazing, Meiyo was willing to pay to have Kushina cook for her. Kushina blushed at the obvious compliment as Minato grinned and laughed

"Told ya" Before digging in and savoring the taste of the soup he loved.

Meiyo ate very slowly savoring every sip and every bite from the soup and when she was done she asked

"Kushina-san, can you teach me how to cook?"

"Doesn't your mother show you how?" She asked kindly, and Meiyo looked down and twiddled her thumbs

"My parents died when I was four" She said, and Kushina instantly sympathized

"Then of course I'll teach you!" Kushina said happily to brighten the girl up again "The festival will start soon, why don't we finish ourselves up with a bit of make-up, Minato-kun you need to get ready" Kushina said disapprovingly at the shinobi in front of him who had a hand on his full stomach happy as could be, and still in his Jounin outfit

"Yes dear" He said before heading upstairs to their room.

Kushina led the girl to the downstairs bathroom and instructed her how to apply make-up, which was something that Kuikku did not teach her how to do, instead he just did it. And Meiyo felt more confident since she was applying her own make-up rather than being a dress up doll and having someone else do it. Once the two were powdered and ready to go Kushina called up to her husband

"Minato-kun are you ready?"

"Almost" He said as he came into view hopping on one foot, narrowly missing the edge of the stair. Meiyo giggled, hands up to her made up face to cover her red lips. She had to admit, today she felt really pretty.

Meiyo walked with the married couple until she saw her semi-date and walked over to the boy; Ibiki looked shocked at the girl in front of him. The usual tomboyish girl was now dressed in a kimono of purples and blues, with a violet obi to match her hair; that was up with a very unique looking kanzashi neatly in her hair. If Meiyo had not spoken to Ibiki he would have thought the girl in front of him was someone else. Ibiki held out his arm to lead the girl into the festival and at once she was a target of Gai, who, like Ibiki didn't recognize her at first.

Gai was once again challenging Hatake, playing rock paper scissors when Gai noticed the pretty purple haired girl being led by Ibiki. Gai had memorized Ibiki's face and was now mesmerized by the lovely girl Ibiki was walking next to. Kakashi, who had his back to the two, looked over his shoulder and his jaw dropped at the sight of Meiyo. Meiyo noticed that Ibiki was scanning the crowd for someone when their eyes both met Yui. She was a very pretty girl, the same age as Ibiki, and helped work at a local flower shop. Ibiki gulped and a slight blush came over his cheeks. Meiyo took her arm out of his grasp and lightly pushed her old teammate to the girl

"Go talk to her" She hissed as he looked back at the girl confused. She shooed his away and watched happily as Ibiki walked slowly up to the girl and start talking to her. He said something to make the girl blushed and Meiyo grinned

"My lovely youthful flower" A voice said from behind her, she stiffened, recognizing the voice as the reason she was at the festival rather than helping her grandfather clean the shop like she always had done during festivities. She turned around sharply, and looked, slightly shocked, and slightly annoyed at the creepy boy in front of her. "I see that your date has run off to talk to another girl and I was wondering if…" Meiyo was too disgusted by the wiggling caterpillars on his face doing a weird mating dance for her to pay attention to the last part of his sentence. Meiyo scanned the crowd and he r eyes rested on Rin who had her arm forcefully around Hatake's and a lovesick Obito… Obito!

"Obito!" Meiyo cried and rushed as fast as the kimono would allow her to with the shoes she had on to the boy, that looked just as shocked to see her looking beautifully feminine as everyone else seem to. "Help me" Meiyo said, grabbing his sleeve with her small hands. Obito smiled

"Of course" He looked sadly to Rin and Meiyo took note as he led her to the festival games, glad that he had a date, but sad it was not Rin. Meiyo pointedly ignored the weird boy that scared her as they headed to the first game, targets. Meiyo grinned; she actually thought she was going to have fun.


	8. Meiyo the Matchmaker

I am so glad people are enjoying this story as much as I do! And the reviews for the last chapter made me so happy! I had a LOT of fun writing this chapter and I hope that you have fun reading it!

Thank you to my reviewers: ReadinFromPhone, LadyAmazon, Ella Unlimited, and Fyen!

Read, Enjoy, and Review!

-Otakucraze

* * *

Chapter 8

* * *

Meiyo was not stupid; she noticed the supposed "hidden" glances Obito kept shooting towards his teammate Rin. And after her going through and playing all the games, all that was left was dancing, and Meiyo had never learned how to, so it seemed pointless and dull of her to even suggest it to the older boy. Once the "subtle" glances had gotten on Meiyo's nerves enough she gave a loud sigh, which caught the Uchiha's attention

"You like Rin" Meiyo stated,

"Ah… I … no… yes?" Obito stammered out, obviously shocked that the younger girl had said anything. Meiyo looked up at him expectantly "Can you help me get her to like me?" Obito asked

"I don't think I can, I don't know much about girls" Meiyo admitted

"But you're a girl" Obito stated

"Do you see me wearing a dress and talking to other girls about make-up and boys?" Meiyo asked, Obito shook his head no "If I don't do what a typical girl does, how do you expect me to give advice to you about girls?" Obito shrugged, downtrodden from the logic coming from the girl's mouth. Meiyo sighed and asked the boy "Do you know how to dance?"

"What?"

"Do you know how to dance?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Wait here" Meiyo said as she made her way over to the Hatake and the girl who he was ignoring, which happened to be the girl his friend who was infatuated with. She was currently hanging on to the silver-haired boy with both arms and looking at him with dreamy eyes. Meiyo sighed, hoping her impromptu plan would work.

She tapped the girl on the shoulder and asked to talk to her.

"You like Hatake, don't you?" Meiyo said. Rin glared

"If you think you can steal him away-"

"I don't want him, relax" Meiyo said "But doesn't it worry you that he doesn't act like you exist?" Meiyo asked, very tenderly. The girl looked taken aback "Wouldn't you like to see him jealous" Meiyo asked. Rin smiled, obviously daydreaming. Meiyo sighed softly, these love relationships seemed to so confusing if you were in them. She hoped she would never fall in love and act as idiotically as Rin and Obito were over their intended love interest.

"Yes I would, but who would Kakashi-kun be jealous over" Meiyo smirked, before forcing it to disappear

"Think about it, Obito-san and Hatake are always fighting, if Hatake sees you go over to Obito-san and dance with him after you were holding him during the entire festival, he would get jealous" Meiyo said. Her plan was working perfectly, and she had the sudden urge to laugh maniacally at the situation. Rin grinned before giving the shorter girl a gentle hug.

"Meiyo-chan you are a genius" Rin said, and with that headed to the still waiting Obito. Meiyo went towards Hatake standing next to him and waiting. This was the part of her plan that she was unsure of, how was she going to make the usual impassive Hatake Kakashi look jealous when she knew he wasn't.

Meiyo watched as Rin asked a delighted Obito to dance, he happily agreed and Meiyo, having no options left, elbowed the silver-haired boy in the stomach. Since he was not expecting the blow he doubled over, glaring up at the girl

"Stop being such a baby, I barely touched you" Meiyo said as the boy forced himself up, a furious look in his eyes. Meiyo shrugged, close enough to a jealous face and with that she pointed to the dancing couple "Look!" Hatake looked over to the dancing couple and could practically see Rin squealing in delight in her head. Meiyo allowed the smirk she was holding in out. Playing matchmaker was more fun than the stupid games the festival had. "Well I think that's enough fun for tonight" Meiyo said to the boy who resumed is death glare at the girl. Meiyo turned and started walking home, not giving the masked boy a second glance.

Meiyo walked the quiet dark familiar streets to the shop where she expected her grandfather to be diligently cleaning his place of work. Once there her heart threatened to stop, something was not right. She scanned the shop and connected house for any signs of her grandfather's chakra signature and did not feel any. Now knowing something was terribly wrong Meiyo began searching for her grandfather throughout the village, willing her senses to pick up the familiar signature as she rushed down the streets as fast as the kimono and shoes would let her. She could feel her hair slipping from the updo but she didn't care, she needed to find her grandfather.

She sensed it near the front gates, in her worry she had unbeknownst to her furthered the training since the main gate was about 100 meters away, but she had no time to congratulate herself as she hid her chakra signature and took off the stupid wooden shoes that would give away her position. She slithered her way over, as carefully and quietly as she could. She noticed that the two Chuunin that were to guard the gate had been knocked out, a streak of blood down both their faces.

'Shikyo' Meiyo thought, now terrified. She put her back against the wall as she heard the skirmish between the Shikyo clan and their rebel. She very slowly took a peak and saw a man, younger than her grandfather, holding what looked to be a whip made of lightening, over her grandfather. In sheer panic Meiyo scanned her brain on what to do. There were three chakra signatures she did not recognize, one was dead by the steady decrease in chakra, and the other two were strong. Meiyo was no match for them, she knew that and it was that fact alone that kept her from jumping into the fight to help her grandfather.

"Where are the swords you pathetic excuse for a Shikyo?" A man spat from the other side of the wall. Meiyo cringed. She had been told horror stories of the Shikyo's version of torture, and did not wish for her grandfather to go through with it. She searched her brain for a plan. But all she could think of was the fact that she was not dressed to fight, was completely unharmed, and the men on the other side of the wall were more than twice her age, had special clan jutsus, and had more chakra than she had. Her grandfather needed help, and the only one she could think of to help her in such short notice without having to explain how dangerous the battle would be because of the danger of Shikyo blood. Meiyo bit her lip and came to the conclusion that she had to leave her grandfather with the two men to go get help, besides, Meiyo reminded herself, she wasn't helping much when she was just standing there looking pretty and impractical for a fight. Meiyo left as quickly and quietly as she could before using a teleportation jutsu to get closer to the festival.

'At least people are far away from the fight, less people will be killed this way' Meiyo thought as the creepy boy grabbed her hand again

"My darling youthful maiden, you have come back to dance with me!"

Meiyo had no time to spare, her grandfather was in danger and she was angry that the boy was leading her away from where her sensei was. Meiyo growled before turning to the boy

"GET OFF ME!" She yelled, before giving the boy a hard punch to the stomach. He doubled over and no longer cared about her appearance to others, since her hair that once up was now nearly touching her shoulders, her kimono was uneven since she forced herself to run in it, and her feet were now dirty with the bottom of the kimono. Meiyo did not care as she rushed to her sensei

"Kuikku-sensei" Meiyo said, slightly out of breath from the running and burst of chakra and energy she used to run through the entire village and teleport herself here.

"Ah Meiyo-chan, I heard what happened in the salon, I am very disappointed in you" Kuikku said disapprovingly towards Meiyo. Meiyo could not care less about what had happened in the salon earlier that day when her grandfather was in such great danger. Kuikku turned her back on his student to consol his wife, which was glaring at her from over his shoulder. Meiyo glared back

"Kuikku-sensei I need help"

"Yes you do" His wife said

"Meiyo, why don't you go off and enjoy yourself okay, at least until you are ready to apologize to my wife" He said as he led his still glaring wife away from his student. Meiyo was in shock, did he not hear her ask for help? Meiyo closed her mouth now in angry determination. If no one was going to help her she was going to have to do it herself. Knowing full well that the percentage rate of coming out of a battle this high in caliber was under 30% Meiyo stormed away from the festival and to her house, to find it a disaster. The Shikyo clan probably resorted to searching the house for the swords. Meiyo's anger rose and she leapt up the stairs three at a time and began getting the retched kimono off of her. She looked at the outfit she wore today on her bed and scowled at it. She gently took out her kanzashi and placed it on her vanity before ripping out the barrettes and bobby pins and a lone hair-tie out of her hair before placing her hair in a much more manageable and practical high ponytail. She went to her brother's wardrobe and took out one of his long sleeved shirts and pants, hurriedly putting them on. Since she was too thin for the pants and shirt she took her shuriken and kunai holster and used it as a belt. She put on her ninja sandals and grabbed her newest katana and leapt out her window and landed on top of the roof of the weapons shop. Meiyo jumped down to the ground and ran to the main gate, putting the katana's holster on her body in the process. When Meiyo got close enough she hid her chakra signature and slowed down to a much quieter run releasing the katana from its scabbard in the process. Meiyo knew that the only way she could get out of this battle alive was to use the element of surprise to her advantage and do as much damage as possible to the two men that threatened her grandfather. She leapt up on the wall and noticed below her there were two Shikyo clan members, presumably dead, and a very broken looking grandfather. Meiyo bit the urge to run to him yelling "Ojii-san Ojii-san" because in a situation like this the remaining man was probably in hiding, hoping to find someone related to the crumpled man on the floor

'Like me' Meiyo said before dropping to the side of the wall she was previously at, and sheathed her sword. She had to make this look believable, no one would think she was his granddaughter, she looked nothing like him. Meiyo took a deep breath before acting shocked at the two guards, running towards them she made up any name she could

"Tasuke, Tasuke are you alright?" She said shaking one of the male guards by the shoulder. Her grandfather moaned and she thanked him silently before investigating, drawing a kunai just in case. She searched the area and took note of the two dead men, acting like it was her first time seeing this. She slowly went over to them and checked their pulse, careful not to touch their blood; she didn't want to pretend to be unconscious too. Both were dead, as she suspected and her grandfather moaned again, and she turned, gasping and putting her hands up to her face in shock, real shock. Her grandfather looked worse up close than he did far away. She ran over to him screaming "Trinian-san, Trinian-san, are you okay?" When she was about to touch him her grandfather said

"Don't touch the blood" Meiyo wanted to smirk, her grandfather had gotten the just of what she was aiming for. Meiyo nodded and did her medical jutsu and healed the small cuts she could. She cursed she really needed to learn more medical jutsus. Once the small cuts were finished, and there was no more the eight year old could do she said

"Let's get you to the hospital, Trinian-san" Meiyo said as she took gloves out of her holster and lifted the older man up, leading him the aforementioned building. She groaned at the weight her grandfather was putting on her. He was worse than she thought, and that scared her. Meiyo's brain made the connection that the easiest and shortest way to the hospital was through the festival. Meiyo sighed; she did not want to do this. Nearly crumpling to the ground a few times under the older man's weight the tow made the slow trek up to the hospital. Once the two had gotten close enough to the festival she sucked in a deep breath and yelling louder than she ever had before she yelled

"MMMOOOVVVEEE" She bellowed loud enough to be heard over the music, and many people turned in shock, including her sensei, which she just glared at as he looked at her grandfather in shock

'Yeah jerk, maybe next time you will listen when I ask for help' Meiyo thought bitterly to the man, as he began to look guilty. A path formed through the now quiet festival as she moved slowly to the hospital, a couple Chuunins came up to help her and she barked at them until they backed up. She wasn't going to let people find out about her Kekkei Genkai like this, not by accident, and she knew she was the only one who could touch the blood without falling into a dreamless sleep. Once into the hospital she barked at the now frantic nurses not to touch the blood, one didn't listen and fell to the ground with a thud.

"Or you'll end up like that" Meiyo said as she pointed to the idiotic nurse that was now sleeping. Meiyo collapsed to the ground, the black shirt and pants gleaming in the light with the blood of her grandfather. Meiyo's emotions could only be determined by her eyes, which looked scared. Everything else about the fallen girl screamed wild animal, touch and get your hand bitten off. After waiting and pacing the emergency room she asked, rudely, when she could see her grandfather. The lady shrugged and said most likely tomorrow. Tired of the bright white of the hospital, and bored out of her mind she went home, flicking on the light to see the actual damage to the house she had grown up in. The place looked nothing like she left it earlier that day. The sofa was on its back, the coffee table on its side, papers everywhere, pictures and paintings where on the floor, some of the glass had shattered remains of the protective cover of some photographs. The refrigerator was knocked over, the contents spilled throughout the floor as well as the contents of the cabinets. Meiyo sighed, she knew she was going to be up all night worrying, so why not clean. Getting trash bags the girl began to pick up the broken pieces of glass, numb to the feeling of some breaking the skin as she continued cleaning mindlessly. She had to use chakra to pick up the refrigerator, and slipped twice because she accidently stepped on some food. She threw the now spoiled food away and put the canned food back in the cupboards. She put the pots and pans in their place and went to clean the living room, putting the papers on the not upright coffee table and using chakra once more to lift the couch; once most of the items were picked up off of the floor she swept, her mind completely blank as she continued cleaning.

It about nine in the morning when the eight year old girl was found sweeping the weapons shop by the hired hand her grandfather had. He was a kind man, and took his job seriously. He took out a second broom without a word and helped Meiyo sweep the store.

"You can go to the hospital to see your Ojii-san Meiyo-chan, I will finish cleaning." The man said gently to the girl. She had barely processed what the man said, and only stopped the fluid motion of sweeping when the man, Hinshu, grabbed her broom to stop the motion. Meiyo looked up, looking dazed, her eyes were red, and glossy, she had bags under her eyes and her fingers had stopped bleeding but a red crust was still evident on her digits. Meiyo still wore the clothes she had found her grandfather in, she looked horrible.

"Wha-?" Meiyo asked, showing just how tired and dazed she truly was

"Meiyo-chan, go see your Ojii-san, I will finish cleaning the shop" Hinshu said gently, taking the broom away from the small girl and gently pushed her out of the shop.

Meiyo walked zombie like to the hospital. Her appearance shocked the attendant and Meiyo stumbled with her words

"See… Trinian… Kesshi… Ojii-san… room?" Meiyo said as she swayed as she stood. The attendant looked at the books and said

"He can't have visitors right now, but if you come back in a couple hours-" The attendant said before she stopped to look at the girl who was now falling backward to the ground, asleep. Minato caught her before she crashed to the ground. He looked at her with pity before giving a curt nod to the attendant before bringing her to his home.

Minato and Kushina left the festival to do… other things… and not heard the ordeal that had happened until that morning. Kushina proceeded to kick him until he got dressed and left the house in search of the poor girl. He went to the weapon shop when the hired help told the blonde man that she had left to go to the hospital. Minato was glad that he got there in time to break her fall. His wife had grown quite fond of the girl after the hours of girl time they had together, and would not hesitate to break his arm if anything happened to the girl. And as much as Minato loved his wife, he had to admit she was terrifying when she was mad.

* * *

Meiyo awoke in a room that was not hers. Panicking she groped her body for her holsters, to find she had none. The last thing she could remember was being at the hospital and as the girl looked around she _knew_ this wasn't a hospital. Hospitals were stark white and band, the room she was in had character, it had red and white accents with bits of orange thrown in at different places. The bed she was on, for example, had a red comforter with a white lining and the sheets were white with a red lining, while the pillowcase was red with an orange perimeter. Meiyo looked down to see that she was not wearing the clothes she remembered, she was wearing a tan shirt that was made for the female body, but was too big, and when the girl got out of bed she noticed the shirt was more like a dress on her thin lanky frame. She looked around the room, taking note of a little wooden desk with a little vase with red, orange, and white flowers forming a bouquet. She looked at the white walls, but unlike the hospital, it wasn't so bright, and the blood red trim around the room probably helped with that. The hardwood floor wasn't as cold as it was at her house and once she was finished looking around the room she felt calmer. She opened the door a crack and then when she didn't hear anything she opened it fully and was about to investigate the next room when her sense of smell picked up something delicious, and her stomach rumbled and she turned towards the stairs when everything suddenly looked familiar, she was at Kushina's house.

"Ohaiyo Meiyo-chan" Kushina said happily to the slightly confused girl "Breakfast is ready if you want some" Kushina said putting plates down on the table. "Minato! Breakfast!" Kushina yelled and a yellow flash zoomed past her and at once Hatake's sensei was at the table. Minato smiled at his wife as Meiyo sat down "Minato! How many times did I tell you NOT TO THROW THOSE IN THE HOUSE?" Kushina roared, and Meiyo looked on wide-eyed as she slowly sat in her chair Minato sheepishly scratched the back of his neck and grinned at his wife. Who just directed a slap to the head as she picked up the kunai and put it in his lap glaring. "How are you feeling Meiyo-chan, I was sorry to hear what happened and got Minato to bring you over, you slept all day yesterday" Meiyo's eyes grew wide, again, at the news

"From what I hear your Ojii-san is fine, they let him out an hour ago" Minato added as Kushina put rice in a bowl in front of him, and handed him an egg, doing the same for Meiyo. Meiyo ate quickly and changed into her soiled clothes before running back to her house.

"Ojii-san!" Meiyo said throwing herself around his middle. "I was so worried"

"I heard" Trinian said laughing happily at his granddaughter's antics "Hinshu had to force you out to the hospital to stop you from cleaning everything" Trinian laughed once more. "_We need to take even more precautions with those swords_" Trinian said in his fluent Shikyoan. Meiyo understood and nodded.

"Kesshi-san!" Hinshu said running to his employer "My wife is having her baby, can I-"

"Yes, go, go, what are you going to name her?"

"The wife and I like the name Tenten"

Meiyo spent the rest of that day putting new wallpaper in the room, she was growing too old for the little rainbows and shooting stars the current one had. When she had gotten to the door that held the "experiment room" she placed a genjutsu tag on the bottom right of the doorframe and covered it with a piece of paper, before positioning the wallpaper over it, covering the tag, but in time of an emergency, it would still be available to get to. She continued to set the wallpaper on the door that now looked like a wall and whipped the sweat off her brow.

Meiyo's sword, her blood sword, was hidden in that room underneath the floorboards. The only way to get it out was with a kunai. Her brother's sword was not in the house it was with her brother,

_Meiyo was just waking up when Keikoku-sensei and Ibiki had finished digging the hole her brother's grave. They put him inside the deep hole before getting out and began to pack the dirt on top of him; Meiyo noticed as they were putting him in the hole, his blood sword was still on his person. She had hidden hers at home when she got back_

There was no place safer for a sword that the Shikyo clan would kill for than with her brother.


	9. Meiyo's Wrath

I am so glad people are enjoying this story as much as I do! And the reviews for the last chapter made me so happy!

Thank you to my reviewers: ReadinFromPhone, LadyAmazon!

Read, Enjoy, and Review!

-Otakucraze

* * *

Chapter 9

* * *

One Month Later

* * *

Meiyo had refused to go on any missions to help his grandfather with the shop since Hinshu was encouraged to be with his new baby girl. The Hokage understood this.

Once that month was over though she was back in his office again with the one person she currently had a grudge on, Kuikku.

"No, I refuse to go on any mission with him" Meiyo said stubbornly "I would like to be put back on Keikoku's team" Meiyo said, eyes closed, chin high and arms crossed. Kuikku looked at her in shock

"All of this over-"

"You refused to help me! How the hell am I supposed to trust you on the field, on a mission?" Meiyo interrupted. The Hokage sighed.

"Keikoku is in currently teaching Ibiki the ropes with interrogation…"

"Then I should be a part of it. The Shikyo clan barely left my Ojii-san alive, if they find out I am his granddaughter I will be interrogated by them, I need to know those techniques" Meiyo said logically. The Hokage mulled the thought over before agreeing. Kuikku was dismissed as Keikoku was summoned with Ibiki

"Meiyo will be put back on your team"

* * *

One Year Later

* * *

Meiyo had gone through multiple genjutsu to understand what it felt like to be interrogated, she knew the various ways of interrogation as well as she knew how to kill someone with chopsticks and with the war with Iwagakure, her skills were extremely useful to Konoha. She grew accustomed to going on assassination missions alone, sometimes with a Jounin, and working together in groups of two in interrogations.

With the war with Iwagakure many people were upgraded to Jounin, and Meiyo was one of them. She remembered how two weeks ago she went to Hatake to rub it in his face

"I got promoted to Jounin" Meiyo said smugly

"I did too"

"Nuh-uh" Meiyo said, fun now ruined, but not quite

"When" The two said in unison, still attempting to one-up the other

"Five minutes ago" the two once again said in unison.

"I got upgraded only after being a Chuunin for a year"

"I was a Genin in less time you were, _and_ I graduated the academy before you did" Hatake said coolly to the girl who snarled at him and walked away.

* * *

She had just gotten back from an assassination to a commander in Iwa's army that threatened to overpower Konoha and was exhausted. She threw herself in the shower, to wipe the dust that had accumulated on her tired body during the mission and sighed as she fell backwards on the bed.

She had turned nine during the mission and was alone. Meiyo was growing accustomed to not really talking to anyone. She blamed it on her job. She was good at what she did, but because of the long assassination missions that often required recon work as well as flexibility and a great deal of tactic and vast planning Meiyo came home exhausted.

When she awoke the next day well in the afternoon she heard the news that Hatake and his group had been successful in their mission, practically ending the war with Iwagakure.

"Great" Meiyo muttered as she walked down the streets "Just what Hatake needs, an ego-boost"

Even though Meiyo didn't want to see the Hatake, she wanted to congratulate Obito, since he had been on the stupid silver-haired boy's team too. Meiyo waited at the gates in her fitted black long sleeved shirt and black bloused pants, she didn't much care for the Jounin jacket, and often left it at home. Her hair was in a low loose ponytail and she found herself acting very stoic, until someone or something made her snap.

Meiyo saw the flash of blonde hair sparkle in the sunlight and a small smile stretched on her features. She had seen Obito on and off in the past year and their friendship had taken a more sibling like nature. When she was around that particular Uchiha the two would find themselves in almost constant trouble, but it was worth it in Meiyo's mind, she loved playing pranks, and lately with all the assassinations and interrogations, she need the laughter to keep herself sane. Once at the gate she noticed the absence of her friend

"Where's Obito-kun?" Meiyo asked Rin, who had bloodshot eyes giving her the tell-tale signs that she had been crying. Meiyo winced, this was not good news.

"He... he… died saving me" Rin stuttered and Meiyo's jaw slacked instantly from the information "I had no idea he liked me that much, I feel so horrible" Rin confessed.

Meiyo attempted to reign in her temper, but it was too late, she was going in for the kill. She spun the Hatake around and proceeded to yell at him

"What the hell?" Meiyo said "You killed Obito!"

"I did not, Iwa nin di-"

"He was under your command; therefore his death is on your shoulders!" Meiyo yelled, as tears began to well up in her eyes "Knowing you, you probably left him!" Meiyo yelled to the taken aback Hatake, and she stormed off to her room before she felt the urge to kill him with a twig.

Meiyo was intercepted by a little crawling baby girl. Meiyo wiped her eyes before pushing the rising emotions aside before picking up the girl who hand her hands up. Meiyo spun the girl around as she giggled. "It's nice to see you too Tenten, let's bring you back to your Ocaa-san, ne?" Meiyo said sweetly to the baby girl. Tenten had like Meiyo instantly when her large brown eyes looked up at her the first time. Hinshu even admitted that he suspected that Tenten like Meiyo better than himself, causing the nine year old to blush furiously.

Now feeling better because of the smiling giggling girl who knew nothing of war and death, she made her way to the Hokage. She wanted to take some time off to properly mourn Obito's death the best way she knew how, physical pain, the physical pain required to create a new jutsu.

* * *

The Hokage allowed her six months and in that time frame Meiyo pushed her body to the limits.

After finding that she had the lightning affinity she worked hard to have some sort of manipulation over it, but that was in the past. Meiyo needed to blow off some very intense steam. She called forth a massive amount of chakra and the anger that Hatake let her best friend turned brother die and then he had the gall to steal his eye fuelled her massive chakra burst as she forced into the ground, causing the lightning to create a small crater around her and come out of the ground at random intervals around the girl. Meiyo dropped to her knees to catch her breath, what she did was impressive but a huge waste of chakra. The one jutsu had stripped her of 2/3rds of her stored chakra and it was a struggle to get up. She usually had 50% of her chakra stored minimum so using that much drained her. She collapsed on the ground and looked up. She needed to get more chakra.

She stumbled back to the village and went to the ramen stand, ordering ramen in rapid succession, when her body tensed at the familiar, unwanted chakra of the Hatake.

He noticed her bristle when he got close and stopped for a moment.

Hatake sat down next to her and was about to apologize.

"What do you want" Meiyo said with a growl. She was not in the mood to restrain herself. Yes she was low on chakra but how much energy was needed to grab a pair of chopsticks and jab them into the neck of the boy who inadvertently killed the closed thing she had to brother. Her right hand was swollen from the force of the blow to the ground; Meiyo was actually surprised she hadn't shattered the bones with the force she put into that punch. Meiyo reminded herself of the throbbing dull pain in the hand, the only thing she could do to restrain her anger and near hatred for the boy next to her.

Meiyo looked at him expectantly, anger showing on her pale face. "Well?"

The Hatake had seen Meiyo angry before, but he had never seen her this furious. It was obvious she was biting back the attempt to lash out, and with a quick look at her right hand it looked like she had attempted to but the anger stayed.

"Why do you have you hitai-ate like that" Meiyo said through gritted teeth. Hatake stayed silent, fueling the anger that welled in Meiyo. Annoyed that the masked boy was ignoring her question, she lashed out and threw the hitai-ate on the ground with her chopsticks. What the girl saw made her take a sharp intake of air. A red sharingan lay underneath the hitai-ate. The momentary shock wore off and Meiyo's anger seemed to rise out of the depths, fiercer than ever. "Killing him wasn't enough? You had to steal his eye?" Meiyo bellowed, her restraint failing as she aimed a punch with her swollen right hand turned fist at the boy's jaw.

A sickening crack flew through the air and Kakashi fell off the stool from the force of the blow. Meiyo towered over the boy, her eyes blazing a greenish silver fire. The once sullen Hatake was now realizing that he had to fight back, especially when Meiyo grabbed a pair of chopsticks, and gave the boy the same look a cold-blooded killer would have as she snapped the chopsticks apart. Meiyo was about to pounce when Hatake kicked the girl's shin with as much force as he could. Another sickening crack filled the air as a sharp scream pieced the air as the girl fell. The killing intent now gone from her eyes, but the anger still remained and Hatake quickly got to his feet. Meiyo glared at him, as she used the stool for leverage before using her leg that wasn't broken to pounce, this time successfully on top of the boy. The girl, not as skilled in Taijutsu as in Ninjutsu began to punch the boy without mercy before her anger dissipated and she just threw her fist weakly on his chest. Hatake had grabbed one and kept it in a tight grip, and almost had the other one until she dislocated his shoulder with a quick punch. Tears were streaming down her face as she crumpled on top of him, just crying. The masked boy was in shock at what to do, but remembering what he saw couples do when he was walking he released the death grip on her wrist and patted her shoulder blade and upper back until a couple minutes later his sensei dispersed the crowd. One look at the swollen bruised boy and the crying girl that straddled him and he shook his head. Getting Meiyo back on her feet and handing her over to his wife who soothed the girl better than his student was and carried the masked Jounin to the hospital, motioning for Kushina to do the same with the purple haired Jounin as well.

* * *

Meiyo hobbled to Hatake's room on her crutches. She had a day and a half to mull over what she had done, and she felt guilty and terrible.

Opening the door was a bit difficult but with the help of the crutches she exited the room noisily.

Because of the noise alone Meiyo disliked crutches, the pain from caused her to hate the wooden objects.

Clacking down the hallway she discovered that the elevator was broken and she had to go up a flight of stairs. Meiyo never felt so helpless, and slow, having to go up one stair at a time. Needless to say when she finally got to the second floor she decided that she seriously hated stairs.

Using the balance of her crutches she turned the handle and used the crutch to stop the door from fully closing. With some difficulty she used the crutch to push open the door and wobble inside, wincing every time the stupid wooden sticks made the tell-tale clunk on the ground. Hatake moved his bruised face to the door slightly and Meiyo winced. She went to the chair and fell into it, stretching out her leg before throwing the sticks away from her.

"Hey" Meiyo said as she scooted the chair closer to the bed. She reached out to touch a rather large black eye, he flinched and Meiyo stopped in midair, now feeling even guiltier than before. "I'm sorry" She said, eyes downcast and hands in her lap. Hatake looked surprised, but Meiyo didn't notice.

"Rin was captured by the Iwa Nin" Kakashi said softly "I was going to leave her when Obito disregarded my authority and went after her, causing me chase after him. We found Rin and when we were attempting to escape an Iwa Nin cast a jutsu to have the cave collapse. Rin and I were able to evade, Obito was crushed by a huge boulder. We couldn't get him out; he let me have his eye, since my right eye had been attacked in a skirmish, as a gift for becoming a Jounin. I nearly died, Rin nearly died." Hatake confessed

"I… I had no idea, I was just so… angry that I lost someone who I finally found suitable for a replacement Nenriki, and I seemed to lose him all over again" Meiyo admitted, still looking down "Even still, I shouldn't have blamed everything on you" Meiyo said, still looking down, twiddling her thumbs as she spoke "I shouldn't have let my anger take a hold of me and lash out at you, it was wrong, and I am _really _sorry" Meiyo said.

"Sorry for breaking your leg" Hatake said. Meiyo lightly glared at him

"You should be, the freaking elevator is broken and I could hear the stupid things echo down the hallway, it took me twenty minutes to get up to the second floor, and my armpits hurt" Meiyo complained, unbeknownst to the girl, Hatake was smiling lightly, since she was lightly kicking his bed with her good leg as she ticked off the complaints. "The noise is _so_ annoying!"

And the noise was irritating her more than anything; she had gotten so used to walking silently that the clunk clunk noise gave her a headache that she couldn't escape.

"My head is killing me" Meiyo said as she flung her hair back, her long purple tresses expended in the air fractions longer than her head and followed the movement gracefully. Meiyo stared at the ceiling as she closed her eyes in pain

"Why do you have a headache?" Hatake said slowly

"Stupid noises the crutches give. I swear that" Meiyo said as she blindly pointed to the wooden pieces of torture "is probably the best way to torture a shinobi" Meiyo rubbed her temples and the boy looked over the girl with his the one that wasn't covered, that was also surrounded by a vicious looking black eye. "It would be amazing when the nurses actually use their med jutsu to heal us"

"Minato-sensei refused to let them though" Hatake said, causing the girl to open her eyes slightly to look at him

"Why?" She asked

"Probably to teach us not to fight each other" Hatake mused, leaning back his head to lie on his pillow, closing his eye in the process.

The nurses came in to shoo the girl out back she simply refused to go back down the stairs to break her neck in the process.

Needless to say when the girl started threatening the nurses just sighed and healed the girl and then the boy as well.

The two walked out, their relationship not as rocky as it had been, and fully healed by sunset.

* * *

1 Year and Nine Months later

* * *

Kushina was pregnant, and was busting at the seams, and since Minato wasn't there to help the woman do the basic cleaning and cooking around the house because of his new duties, Meiyo eagerly helped her. Kushina had taught her how to cook many a meal, and she helped a lot, until Kushina was about six months pregnant and too big to cook normally, and Meiyo ended up cooking everything herself; which to Meiyo, was an enormous achievement.

Meiyo was in the middle of making Minato's favorite soup when she heard the audible sound of a curse. Meiyo went to investigate and found Kushina looking at a mess in between her legs

"My water broke" She said, "The baby's coming" Meiyo remembered running as fast as she could to the Hokage's office, and didn't care that the attendant was yelling at her to stop. Meiyo burst through the doors of the Hokage's office to see a once bored Minato look up in surprise and thankfulness that something had ended the boring meeting. The elders, however, did not share Minato's feelings over the interruption"

"Young lady-"

"Kushina-san's water broke" Meiyo said, happily not out of breath from the run. Minato jumped out of his seat in excitement and grabbing Meiyo's hand vanished from the room. Meiyo felt herself with her throat in her stomach as she felt like she was speeding through time and space. Meiyo fell to her knees in what was her starting point. Meiyo waited until her balance had returned to her before standing, just in time to see Minato lift up his very pregnant wife to hold her bridal style and disappear.

Meiyo ran back to kitchen and turned off the stove, the face Minato had was not one of excitement, but one of dread. Meiyo didn't understand, Minato loved kids, and he was pretty excited at the beginning of the pregnancy to have a child, but as the months went by she noticed him to be more tense and tired, and his face just now further proved that Meiyo was out of the loop of something important.

Meiyo had no idea just how right she was.

Meiyo left the house and meandered over to her own, knowing that the two would not be coming home that night she left the soup on the burner, it just needed to be heated up and the meat thrown in, something that Minato had done before, and Meiyo put the lid on the pot to make sure that nothing got in it.

In the span of nearly two years and the help of Hatake Kakashi here and there Meiyo had gotten a great start on her jutsu, instead of just wasting chakra it did what she wanted… sort of. It usually reacted in a sun shape around her, usually stopping about two feet away from her feet. She was still trying to spread out the "rays" of the sun so she could use it long-ranged against an enemy, but as far as she knew, it was a worthless short-range jutsu that would hurt but was much too risky. Unless she was willing to use a large amount of chakra the jutsu wouldn't be worth it.

Hatake and Meiyo's relationship was becoming a very odd friendship, they weren't fighting, but the two still annoyed each other.

To Meiyo his aloofness still annoyed her, as well as his now mostly covered face, she had become more and more curious at what lie beneath.

To Kakashi it was how, even though she did remain stoic at times, or as stoic as Meiyo could be, she still wore her heart on her sleeve, and it annoyed Kakashi to no end. It also irritated him when Meiyo trusted her intuition rather than his logic on missions… even if her intuition was almost always right… or right all the times they had been paired up together, and that fact seriously irritated him, but he wasn't going to tell her that

Meiyo's intuition was currently on high alert, and she had a feeling of dread that something very bad was going to happen. Meiyo automatically went to her room and changed from her casual outfit of a long sleeved shirt and Bermuda shorts, and into her regular shinobi clothes, which consisted of a fitted short sleeved shirt, that was black, and a skort, that was a deep violet. Kushina was very kind, yes, but she could be forceful too, as when she refused to see Meiyo wear her brother's clothes one more day and literally dragged her through the streets to a shop, thankfully not the same shop Kuikku took her too, and pushed her into a fitting room and threw various articles of clothing over the door. Kushina even paid for it, when Meiyo persisted she simply said

"Minato's the Hokage, if need be I will go up to his office, break down the door and order him to give you a direct order for us to pay for your clothes" Kushina said threateningly "Or I can crush you to the ground with a wind jutsu and pay for it while you are flailing around" Kushina said thoughtfully as Meiyo paled

Meiyo had to admit shopping for clothes with Kushina was easier than her experiences with Kuikku, mainly because she was so gung-ho that Meiyo should dress more like a girl, but yet still be completely practical. Kushina even gave her a reason too

"You are still self-conscious about your body; every girl is, especially when your body begins to change. But you are a kunoichi, and you are lucky you are. Men are stupid; they believe women are just pretty accessories, and tools for reproduction. Every man believes, to some level, that women are weaker than them, sometimes this is true, and others it is not. But as a woman you can play the most deadliest prank in the world on men, you seduce than kill. Hardly any man came withstand a beautiful girl flirting with him, and if he believes he can get into her pants, his guard drops completely making your job as an assassin even easier, and more exciting. Believe me, missions are easier when you look pretty, and are even more exciting when you look sexy."

Meiyo had learned a lot from Kushina and in the last nine months alone she had learn more than with both of her senseis combined.

Meiyo finished placing her weapon holsters and scabbard on her person before setting out to find Kakashi.


	10. Cursed

I am so glad people are enjoying this story as much as I do! And the reviews for the last chapter made me so happy! Sorry this chapter is so short, it hurt too much to write it, but the next chapter will be better, and longer so don't worry!

Thank you to my reviewer: LadyAmazon!

Read, Enjoy, and Review!

-Otakucraze

* * *

Chapter 10

* * *

Kakashi had told Meiyo to not worry about his sensei and Kushina, and that her intuition, though never wrong before, was most likely wrong.

"You're just getting paranoid" Kakashi said, causing an immediate piercing glare from the girl "Do you have any evidence that something bad will happen?" He asked, she shook her head no "Just a gut feeling?" Meiyo nodded, catching his drift, and doubt began to sink in.

Maybe she was growing paranoid.

And when nothing happened that night, or the next morning she shook off the feeling of dread and enjoyed the day.

It wasn't until around three when Meiyo would give the Hatake a pointed 'Told-You-So' look when a huge nine-tailed fox demon appeared. Kakashi gave her a quick sheepish look when they were ordered to go to a very specific clearing. She ran towards her house to grab weaponry when she noticed her grandfather doing the same

"What are you doing?"

"I am serving my village same as you are, this is not the time to play the part of a blacksmith" her grandfather said before rushing out of the house in a speed that most likely match Minato's.

Meiyo gaped at the place where grandfather had stood before a loud thrash was heard and the aftershock of it had Meiyo toppling over. Meiyo winced as she got up, that was a vicious reminder that she was a shinobi, and had to fight that thing, and rushed off to the clearing.

Once there she saw Kakashi, and holding her shoulder a bit from anther aftershock had had her go shoulder first into a building while running, and made her way toward him

"What happened?" He asked, general concern when he was the girl holding her shoulder

"Aftershock threw me into a building" Meiyo said "It's not broken, I think the force of it knocked it out of its socket though" Meiyo said "What's going on? What are our orders?"

"To stay" Kakashi said as he checked out the shoulder, it was indeed out of its socket.

"What?" Meiyo asked, and would have jumped in anger if the masked boy had not been fingering her injury "That's insane! We are shinobi we should be fighting that… that thing too!" Meiyo said when a bit of red-orange caught her view. Meiyo paled and Kakashi took her distractedness as a sign to push the shoulder back in place. Since the girl had no idea what was going on the sudden pain had her yelp and hiss. She lightly glared at him before saying a quiet "Thanks, next time a little warning would be nice"

"You know it hurts a lot more when you are expecting it, you get tense." Kakashi said before looking at the red-orange monster. Meiyo wouldn't admit it but she was scared. The chakra that was coming off of that thing was immense, and the killing intent rivaled the chakra. The face of the creature was sharp and a twisted smile that made the creature look more hideous and evil made Meiyo sort of wish that she never became a shinobi. To top off her fear, the creature was getting closer to the clearing where the other younger shinobi were at. Meiyo knew she was visibly shaking, and a hand gently made its way onto her shoulder. She looked at the masked boy that mirrored her own in terror.

The creature was getting ever closer to the clearing, but if it felt like it, one of those nine tails could swoop down and kill them all, as it had begun to with village.

"When this is all over you will be reunited with your Ojii-san and everything will be fine" Kakashi whispered in her ear. Meiyo was having a minor panic attack. She had never felt this humbled, and weak before, and when looking up to the huge evil creature she had to overcome the feeling of nausea. The word Ojii-san had the girl in tears in seconds, and then on her feet in a new determination

"What are you doing?" Kakashi asked calmly, 'she wasn't going to go out into the fight was she?' Kakashi thought, now worried about the girl's mental health

"My Ojii-san is out there fighting, and I should too" she wiped the tears out of her face and her face was set with a determination, a very terrified look of determination

"Why is your Ojii-san fighting, he is a blacksmith" Kakashi said and she faltered,

'Crap, said too much' she thought and replayed what his last words to her were. _"I am serving my village same as you are, this is not the time to play the part of a blacksmith"_

With her new found determination shattered she did not notice the beast had finally come close enough to see the young shinobi and he happily flung a tail down at them. She did notice Kakashi's face, or fourth of a face, when it paled enough to make him look ghost-like, his one eye wide, with the shadow passing over from the massive tail Meiyo turned, and upon seeing the scene screamed at the top of her lungs.

A flash of lightning from the ground hit and wrapped around the tail, pulling it towards an old man with pepper-gray hair and silver eyes. Meiyo slumped on the ground when she saw her grandfather, her mouth still open from the scream that had stopped coming, her face still twisting in fear and shock. Meiyo looked at her grandfather, and he looked at her, and smiled before an enormous paw struck the man, claws slashing through him as if he were butter. Meiyo's scream continued and tears rolled fast down her cheeks, she no longer cared that the tail was closing in on her to stop the annoying sound of her screams, all that Meiyo could look at, all that she could think of, was the image of her grandfather, the only person left in her life, being sliced into three pieces by razor sharp claws of the massive beast. Kakashi grabbed the girl and together they made it to the other side of the clearing. Meiyo grabbed the front of his shirt and began to cry, screaming slightly as she did, very much like what she did when her brother died, at least this time she had someone to wrap an arm around the destroyed girl. Kakashi was shocked, yes, that the girl's grandfather had been able to use lightning like a whip, not only that, but it was strong enough to stop the tail from swinging down. He was even more shocked that the girl who usually refused to let him touch her, unless it was an injury, was now grabbing his shirt and pushing herself closer to him. Yes, he understood that the girl was traumatized by the incident, as was he, but the fact she did not pull away and push him was making his cheeks burn, and his heart flutter, and it was confusing him even more than ever.

He looked up to see his sensei with a baby boy, he pointed and Meiyo looked up sullenly to watch as the closest thing she had to a father with his newborn son did a jutsu that had the huge beast sealed into his son. Meiyo watched in horror as the man, the Hokage, fell to the ground, his son following the same descent while screaming. Meiyo pushed Kakashi away and ran to the little screaming boy, catching blonde boy as she projected herself of a tree branch with a light thud.

The boy had a weird set of markings around his navel, and had three little marks on each of his cheeks. The sudden catch caught the boy off guard and brilliant blue eyes stared into bloodshot silver green. Meiyo's breath caught in her throat.

'He looks just like Minato!' she thought and looked about five feet away where the boy's father lay. Tears welled in her eyes once more and she had to fight to keep them in check. The eleven year old was torn from her reverie from a light tugging on her tresses. She looked down to the child she just saved and saw his big blue eyes widen when he caught her purple locks. He gave a giggle and Meiyo's tears overflowed and ran down her cheeks as she stared at the baby. The boy kicked happily in her arms and Meiyo felt a tug at her heartstrings

"Aren't you just the cutest thing in the world?" Meiyo said in a high-pitched voice, her voice cracking, tears still flowing down her cheeks, turning so she didn't have to see the unmoving body of the man she had admired. Older Jounin rushed to the area, the Sandaime taking the baby from her arms. Kakashi put his hands on the purple haired girl, as she watched them take away the two dead bodies of the people she loved. Still crying, but now not having an adorable distraction, she fell to her knees, Kakashi catching her as she did and she twisted her body so she could place her forehead on his shoulder.

"Why does everyone I love die?" Meiyo asked, shocking the boy, who could not answer "It's like I'm cursed," she looked into the deep grey eye of the boy after saying it, he looked at her as if she were crazy.

"Everyone dies"

"I don't want you to die" Meiyo said "And I don't want to die, my brother, Ocaa-san Otou-san, and Ojii-san shouldn't have died" Meiyo said

"That's the life of a shinobi Meiyo-san, and I won't die anytime soon" Kakashi said, as Meiyo rested her head on his chest.

"You can't know for sure" Meiyo said as the night's cool air blew around them. The two stood up and Kakashi led the destroyed girl to her home to find that it had lasted through the attack fairly well compared to some of the other residential buildings in the area, which had been crushed to the ground."Kakashi-san, I don't want to stay here"

"Why?"

"It reminds me of what I lost, can I stay with you?" Kakashi nodded, hoping his father's house had survived the attack.

"You are not cursed" Kakashi finally said as he went through the front door, and had Meiyo sit on the couch

"You don't know that, I mean think about it, I lost my parents when I was four, my brother when I was seven and my Ojii-san just now along with Minato-sensei, who treated me like a daughter, which is more death than normal, Kakashi-san. Look at Inuzuka, they didn't lose anyone. I am cursed, and to make sure you are protected Kakashi –san, I promise" Meiyo said as she grabbed his shoulders and a look of determination showed briefly on her exhausted traumatized face "I will never love you so you can live longer" Meiyo turned around quickly and went to lay down on his couch oblivious to the twitch the boy had when he heard the words, the warmth that had begun to flow In his heart was doused with water and he was left shivering, and in shock at the exclamation.

'How could she possibly believe she is cursed?' Kakashi thought 'How can she believe not loving me will make me live longer? Why do I feel as if my heart had been ripped out, and why do I care if she never loves me? And why does it hurt so much to know she never will?'

These thought flowing like a little hurricane in his mind, repeating themselves over and over, Kakashi went to bed in an equally depressed mood as the girl on the couch that night.

* * *

Meiyo slept at Kakashi's house for the next week until she finally felt like was being a bother to the boy.

Besides, Meiyo had bigger things to worry about now that she was left with a shop and a business. Meiyo sighed as she attempted to find an easy way out the hole that her grandfather had dug and threw her in.

She couldn't sell the business without selling the residential area behind it, which left the girl homeless.

She couldn't stay at Kakashi's forever; they were already getting on each other's nerves.

She couldn't take over the business without quitting her life as a shinobi, and even if she did the business would drop mainly since she didn't know anything about smithing.

She couldn't just let Hinshu work there by himself since his wages would rise and the remaining profit would not pay for the remaining rent for the residential area, and if that happened it would be another few months before she became homeless.

The only thing she could think of that didn't have as many cons, was the one she was about to do, and walked up to Hinshu to talk about it.

"Hinshu-san?" Meiyo asked "Are you busy?"

"Not at all Meiyo-chan, how can I help you?"

"Since my Ojii-san died, I was left with the business…" Meiyo started

"Ah, I was wondering when we were going to have this talk, I talked with my wife, and we don't want you to be homeless, and we don't want to move everything with Tenten around, she needs stability, so how about a compromise" Hinshu asked and Meiyo nodded "I will still work for you, improve the business, and act as manager, and you can take as much profit as you need to continue living in the residential area behind the shop, is that fair?"

Meiyo's eyes watered at the kindness and she hugged him

"Thank you Hinshu!" Hinshu hugged back

"You're welcome, Tenten wants to see you when you get the chance" Meiyo nodded and went to Hinshu's house to say hello to the girl.

After the remodeling missions were roughly completed Meiyo asked the Hokage, the Sandaime, if she could take a year off and travel, and have a little vacation and time to grieve. The Hokage reluctantly admitted her to the time she needed, and Meiyo left Konoha, giving Kakashi one of her rare hugs before she left.

Ignoring the Hokage's wishes she returned a year and two months later…


	11. A Promise

I am so glad people are enjoying this story as much as I do! And the reviews for the last chapter made me so happy! This chapter was fun to write, and like I promised, it is a nice long chapter (over 5000 words, which hasn't been done since chapter 2)

Thank you to my reviewer: LadyAmazon, Ella Unlimited, and ReadinFromPhone!

Read, Enjoy, and Review!

-Otakucraze

* * *

Chapter 11

* * *

When Meiyo arrived back in Konoha she just turned thirteen, and she was a sight to see. But since she arrived in the dead of night, under the cover of a black cloak with a peddler, the sight would just have to be seen the next day. The peddler had a cart full of flowers and with Meiyo's voucher she led him to her house, opening the gate to the back and into a shed. The peddler took the flowers and asked

"Where do you want the flowers?"

"I don't care about the flowers, so throw them in the trash; the other plants can go in here when you're finished. Meiyo said pointing to the shed behind her. She entered the shed and looked at the spacious dusty area. Meiyo had big plans for this room, and with a swoop of her forearm, cleaned off a table of debris and dust just as the peddler brought the wares Meiyo had actually purchased, poisonous plants.

* * *

_On her travels she entered a bookstore, hoping to find a decent present for Kakashi's birthday when she came upon a very odd looking book, looking at it she flipped through the pages, looking at the different recipes for poisons. Intrigued she looked at the price and paled, she would never be able to afford it. And she sadly put it down looking at the book next to it that was the same height and width of the book she wanted. Meiyo raised an eyebrow as temptation flared, and with a quick draw of the hand with a hidden kunai she put the book down that she wanted and purchased the love novel next to it. The cashier had no idea that a very expensive book's pages were replaced in the romance novel's pages and she gushed_

"_Oh I love this book! You will love the ending, the vampire marries the girl" Meiyo smiled_

"_I am sure I will enjoy it" Meiyo said as she took the book after paying for it. She flipped through the book and looked at the various plants required. _

_That was when she met the peddler who promised he could find the plants… for a price, and Meiyo paid it, it was a lot of money, but most of the plants were very hard to find, and very expensive if found.

* * *

_

Once the peddler finished placing the last plant on the table Meiyo led him out, shaking his hand, and as she did so and placed a list of new plants that she wanted.

She went back to the shed and began cleaning. Once properly swept and the plants in various places throughout the shed Meiyo began formulating a mental list of what she would need to get form the store:

Things to make a watering system for when she was on missions

New pots for the plants

Potting soil

A lock

Meiyo went to her bedroom and looked at the twin bed adding

New mattress

To the list before falling face first on the tiny thing and falling asleep instantly.

* * *

She awoke as usual to the sun's first rays and sat up and began stretching before heading off to the bathroom. The girl brushed her locks of long purple hair and put it into a high ponytail, allowing the natural waves to show, and grabbing the last of her money went shopping. Meiyo walked outside and went directly to the Hokage's office, placing the hood over her head as she did so. She wasn't going to show herself unless she had to.

"You were supposed to be here two months ago" The Hokage said and she tilted her head to the side and shrugged

"I was creating a new jutsu, and didn't realize just how much time had passed." Meiyo admitted, as though it were nothing. The Hokage lightly glared at her

"I am glad you are safe"

"Perfectly, who would want to mess around with someone who can kill you with a drop of blood" Meiyo said, not truly caring to be here for no reason

Once the meeting turned lecture ended Meiyo put her hood back on and went shopping.

While grabbing the last items needed for her watering system a hand lightly rested on her shoulder. Meiyo dropped the basket with her wares in it and quickly grabbed the hand before flipping the person over her shoulder. Meiyo's eyes widened when she realized it was Kakashi

"Nice to see you too" He sputtered out in pain

"Kakashi-san I am so sorry" She said, swooping down to grab his hand and pull him up

"When did you get back?"

"Last night"

"What are you getting?" He asked as he helped her pick up the small pieces that fell out of the basket when she dropped it

"A watering system for my plants" Meiyo said honestly. Kakashi grabbed part of her cloak

"Why are you wearing this?" Meiyo looked at the boy annoyed

"When did you start asking so many questions?"

"I haven't seen you in a year" He simply stated as if that were the only explanation need. Meiyo shrugged and went to the counter to pay for her items

"Well in the last year you made quite the name for yourself" Meiyo said as she grabbed the now purchased items and turned once more to the boy "Would you like me to call you Copy Ninja-san from now on?" Meiyo mocked jokingly. Kakashi looked thoughtful

"Kakashi-kun will suffice, or if you prefer Your Highness, that works too" Meiyo laughed.

"Walk me home?"

"Sure" Kakashi said shrugging. The two began to walk towards the girl's house "What have you been doing?"

"Working on jutsu and travelling really, nothing much" Meiyo said looking to the side while shrugging

"You never did mention why you are wearing a cloak"

"To look suspicious" Meiyo said jokingly, Kakashi gave her a 'why do you keep changing the subject' look causing Meiyo to sigh, "You'll see" Meiyo said and let out a sigh of relief once she was home. She said a quick hello to Hinshu and Tenten before walking into the house and took off her cloak, dropping it on the back of a chair. Kakashi's eye grew wide, the girl he remembered had curves now, and she was showing them off in a mini pleated black skirt with black lace thigh-high socks, and a black form fitting short sleeve shirt underneath a purple and black vertical striped waist cincher. Meiyo turned and Kakashi was thankful she could not see the pink tinge on his cheeks due to his mask as he stared at the just barely forming breasts that were even more pronounced since the waist cincher stopped directly below them. Kakashi forced himself to look at the girl's face, rather than her rapidly maturing body.

Meiyo looked at him for a bit before asking

"Are you hungry? I could make something to eat"

Kakashi instantly found his mind wondering to the girl in front of him bending over to get a pot from a lower cabinet and he gulped as he pushed the thought away and his cheeks burned brighter, still hidden by the mask.

"Uh, why don't we go out to eat? You just got back and most of the food here would be bad"

"True, but I have very little money left" Meiyo said as she placed her fishnet gloved hand on her hip; the action once again bringing his eye to rest on the curve, then up to her breasts, again. Kakashi didn't know why he was acting this way. He still had girls flaunting and flirting over him, but he was getting so worked up over this one girl

"I'll buy" Kakashi said as his voice grew higher and cracked, causing Meiyo to chuckle lightly behind a hand. Kakashi was sure that his mask no longer hid his blush and was glad Meiyo hadn't said anything, because surely she would have noticed.

"Are you sure"

"Of course"

"Okay" Meiyo said as she shrugged, grabbing her cloak once more. Kakashi grabbed it

"Isn't it a bit warm to wear such a heavy article of clothing?"

"Do you really want ever pair of male eyes on me as you walk down the streets with me? Because I sure don't" Meiyo said and Kakashi instantly felt Meiyo should wear more clothes than just the cloak as he handed her over the black fabric. Meiyo thanked him and left the hood down as the two left the house.

Deciding on ramen for lunch Meiyo was halfway through with her first bowl (Kakashi had finished when he turned for a half a minute) when an ANBU appeared behind the two Jounin, the sound had Meiyo on her feet on top of the chair she was sitting on with the bowl of ramen held in a way it could be a weapon in one hand, and her chopsticks in another threateningly, and Kakashi had instinctively grabbed a kunai

"The Hokage wishes to speak to you both" He said before disappearing as loud as he came in a cloud of smoke. Meiyo relaxed and quickly downed the rest of her ramen before jumping down, and placing the bowl on the bar table and thanked the chef for the meal. Kakashi quickly paid and the two headed toward the office that Meiyo had been in not too long ago.

It's an escort mission, Kakashi-san, an _escort_ mission" She complained "I have never heard of the guy, so he can't be that important and the mission is a C-rank and they have two Jounin on it" Meiyo ranted as she began to pace "Really, my first mission is something I would do when I was a Genin! This is so insulting!"

"Meiyo, we are both thirteen"

"And Jounin, I have been on A-rank missions by myself and we are doing a C-rank mission together, two Jounin, Kami, sometimes I think the Hokage is losing his mind" Meiyo muttered as she kicked Kakashi's couch.

The two had come over to his house to discuss a strategy, but once the door was closed Meiyo went into a rant. Kakashi just sat and watched not so much listening but looking at her body, how she moved and such, she was mesmerizing.

"Are you listening to me?" Meiyo asked, now peeved

"Yeah"

"Then why didn't you answer me the first time?" Meiyo asked, arms across her chest annoyance clearly written on her face

"Uh…"

Meiyo sighed

"Let me repeat myself; would you like me to make dinner?"

"…sure?" Kakashi said, in all reality unsure of Meiyo's cooking skills.

He was never going to doubt her skills in the kitchen again

"I think this is the best thing I had in my entire life" Kakashi said as he finished a third serving of soup and going for another. Meiyo smiled at the compliment and her cheeks burned. Kakashi noticed and wanted to tease her for it, until he reminded himself of that morning. He did notice how when she blushed it made her eyes stand out, and it made her look adorable. He also noticed how when she grinned she would get a dimple on her right cheek.

Kakashi shoved the thoughts out of his mind and turned to scarf down the fourth bowl, already starting to get full but the soup was too good to waste by letting it get cold.

"Ah" Kakashi said sighing happily. Meiyo giggled as he patted his full stomach "What?" He asked raising an eyebrow.

"You reminded me of Minato-sensei" Meiyo said, her smile faltering as she remembered what happened that night that left her completely void of loving adults.

* * *

The next morning Meiyo was waiting impatiently at the front gate, waiting for Kakashi. Meiyo was tapping her foot and he arms were crossed underneath her cloak

"You know" Kakashi said as he appeared behind her via transportation jutsu, blocking the kunai to his jugular with a kunai of his own "if you are embarrassed by what you are wearing why do you wear a cloak"

"I am not embarrassed by what I am wearing, my outfit is quite useful, but if people get used to what I am wearing than the end result is not as impactful as it could be" Meiyo said "And you are late" Meiyo said as she lightly glared at the boy

"I was helping an old woman cross the street-"

"Are you trying to act like Obito?" Meiyo said, looking at him disapprovingly "Because he never used those ridiculous lies with me, he actually showed up on time, if not five to ten minutes late"

"And why is that?"

"Because I dropped a balloon of green goop on his head while he was sleeping, and I would threatened to if he showed up late when I am around" Meiyo said as she began to walk out the gate, the Copy Ninja following after her.

"So how can that outfit help you on a mission?"

"If I walk around with this on do you really think the men in the general vicinity would keep their guard up?"

"I would"

"Even if I do this? Meiyo said as she threw her cloak on him and walked towards him swaying her hips, spinning a lock of her purple hair in a finger and looked up at him with her bottom lip slightly out.

Kakashi's jaw dropped and before he knew it a senbon was out and at his throat

"You were saying?"

"I see your point" Kakashi said in shock, handing her cloak back. Meiyo thanked him and put it back on "Who did you learn that from?"

"I taught myself through trial and error"

"Huh" Kakashi said

Kakashi and Meiyo went back to speeding through the trees at top speed.

The two entered a small village and was greeted by the one that they were escorting. The man had navy hair and eyes the color of the midnight sky. He offered up his spare room in his house and described the mission

"I just need to be escorted to Tani in the River country where I will meet my fiancé." The man said and Kakashi and Meiyo looked at each other.

"I am going to roam the village" Meiyo said and stood, Kakashi nodded and went to the guest bedroom to lie down on the tiny bed. The two had made the arrangement that one would keep a lookout while the other slept. It was a three day journey to Tani, so they would switch off who slept first.

Meiyo looked around at the very poor village by the sea. She was looking at a trinket shops wares and was looking at herself in a mirror when a flash of silver caught her attention, using the mirror she found the silver was from a pair of eyes, from a man who had deep black hair who was roaming the streets with his friend that had the same characteristics. Meiyo paled and bought the mirror.

"Do you see very many people who look like that?" Meiyo asked

"Oh no, the first time I saw them was today, aren't they gorgeous?" Meiyo was thinking of another descriptive word, dangerous.

Meiyo thanked the cashier and walked in the opposite direction of the two and scanned the area to see many more of the Shikyo clan, some were on the roofs looking down casually at the crowds below while some were leaning against the wall.

Meiyo went back to the house as fast as she could without drawing attention to herself. Once inside the door she went to their charge and Kakashi and said

"We have to leave, now"

"Why can't we just stay for the night, it's almost dark outside" Their charge complained, Meiyo ignored him

"We have trouble"

"What type of trouble?"

"I think this village is about to be obliterated tonight" Meiyo said seriously, the navy haired man laughed "I am not joking" Meiyo said, causing his laughter to end abruptly

Meiyo and Kakashi grabbed their packs while the civilian looked like a chicken with his head cut off

"Just pack your valuables, and hurry" Meiyo growled and let Kakashi deal with him as she chanced a small look outside. It looked like the Shikyo were waiting for an order before they struck. Meiyo knew time was short and grabbed the man as he grabbed a scroll and put it into his rucksack and pushed him into the wall and warned him "When we are outside act natural, act happy, if you act suspicious they will kill you without a second thought." Meiyo let him go and took a deep breath and left the house Kakashi and their charge coming behind her. Meiyo led the way and ducked into an alley, checking for chakra signatures, and ran down the alley, Kakashi and their ward catching up with the two shinobi.

Scanning the area Meiyo motioned them to go north and they stopped short when they saw in the distance about ten Shikyo clan members were blocking the only exit.

"Crap" Meiyo said.

"We can charge" Kakashi whispered

"No, this clan will strike and kill before they even think about asking questions, they are extremely dangerous, we need another plan" Meiyo said as she sat down on the ground and began to draw a rough sketch of the village.

Meiyo sighed as she came up with the only logical way to get out of this mess. Meiyo twisted the cloak so the front of her outfit could be seen completely and her arms could move about freely. Meiyo fiddled with her waist cincher as the navy haired man ogled her.

"What?" Meiyo asked, knowing that this was not the time to deal with a man drooling over her. The man didn't seem to register that she was talking to him and kept staring. Meiyo rolled her eyes while completely oblivious to Kakashi looking flustered and angry. Meiyo gripped one of the tiny purple ribbons and pulled out a hidden senbon needle, thus breaking the boys out of their spells as they looked at the dripping wet needle

"What is that?" the man asked, as he watched a green drop fall to the ground from the needle

"A senbon needle"

"What is on it?" Kakashi asked, intrigued,

"Poison" Meiyo said as she quietly aimed at threw the needle, watching as it hit with deadly accuracy the back of a man's neck. Kakashi watched as the man gingerly placed his hand behind his back, and with a thrust took the needle out before she swayed and fell to the floor in spasms. The other nine looked at him, not bothering to help the man. By that time Meiyo had taken out five more, each dripping with a different poison and threw them and watched as they hit five more men. Now in more of a hurry she grabbed four more hidden senbon needles and stuck, and watched as they hit before grabbing the two boy's arms and running towards the gate.

"My eyes" One man said as she clutched them, digging his nails into the optical nerve and pulling them out "They burn!" Kakashi and the man were shocked at the now blind Shikyo man as Meiyo let go of their arms and ran, but stopped as a yelp came from behind her. She saw another Shikyo clan member holding up the man she was to protect. Kakashi got into stance and Meiyo stopped him, grabbing a kunai from his pouch as she did so

"Who did this?" He asked and Meiyo stepped forward "Who the hell do you think you are?" The man asked in monotone, and Meiyo was glad she left her hitai-ate at home by accident.

"My name is Kodowari Nagori" Meiyo lied.

"Do you know who we are?"

"Idiots?" Meiyo asked, causing the man to narrow his eyes at her. Meiyo kept a cool exterior, as her mind freaked, how was she going to do this, she had to get the man out of the Shikyo's grip before he killed him, and she no longer had any more senbon needles left. It she used her blood she would have a lot to explain to Kakashi, but due to the fact that all the other plans failed in comparison to the Shikyo's jutsus that he was bound to use, Meiyo had no choice.

"We are the Shikyo clan, the most powerful clan in the world" The man said, proudly, but still in monotone. Meiyo bit back her comeback of 'The clan with the most powerful egos you mean' and stayed silent. Using the kunai she cut her thumb, knowing she had one chance to do her trick.

"Then I will just have to bring out my summon to see how powerful you really are" Allowing the blood to run down the blade she quickly faked hand seals before slamming her left hand on the ground as flung the kunai at him quickly with her right, the man dodged the kunai but she smirked when it made a small cut on his arms. Meiyo stood, readying her muscles to run forward

"You missed"

"You sure?" She asked as the Shikyo's eyes widened and was able to make out

"Shikyo" the man whispered before falling backwards unconscious. Meiyo ran up and grabbed the man and with a quick stab in the neck with an infected senbon Meiyo ushered the two boys to stop staring and run

"What was that about?" Kakashi said demandingly, yet still in an aloof tone.

"Will you marry me?" the man said, causing Meiyo to stop abruptly

"What?" She said, and the man took it as a yes

"We can have a grand wedding, you could wear that outfit on our wedding night" The man said as he grabbed the horrified Meiyo's hand and wiggled his eyebrows suggestively. Without a second thought Meiyo took her bloody thumb that was about to stop bleeding and pressed it against his neck. The man fell unconscious. Kakashi's eyes grew wide. Meiyo took a deep breath

"If my blood touches bare skin it enables them unconscious, if it is injected into the body it will kill" Meiyo said quickly as Kakashi picked up the man to continue on

"So that man is dead" Kakashi said about the man who was scraped by the bloody kunai

"No, my blood works differently with the Shikyo clan" Meiyo said, trying to find a good way to explain "My blood does nothing to the Shikyo clan unless it is injected, and then it just knocks them unconscious" Meiyo said.

"I didn't know the Kodowari clan could do any of that sort of thing"

"They can't"

"Then how?"

"My mother's side, you saw them they were heartless bastards, not even twitching when a comrade fell, Ojii-san couldn't take living with them anymore and took his daughter, leaving his son with his recently divorced wife, and left the island and ran"

Kakashi was silent

"So you are related to them?"

"Only by half, so that guy has probably woken up by now" Meiyo said "Can we change the subject"

"Okay, when did you start working with poisons?" Kakashi asked off-handedly, Meiyo lightly glared, but it made sense he was curious, and her admirer was still knocked out so it was fine.

"About a year ago, a book intrigued me" Meiyo said honestly, speeding through the trees since the man was knocked out.

"I didn't know you could read" Kakashi joked, causing the girl to lightly push her comrade, smiling

The three made it about 3/4ths of the way, and ahead of schedule, due to the unconscious man on Kakashi's shoulder.

The masked boy hefted his load onto a bed and Meiyo collapsed on the other, patting the space next to her so Kakashi could collapse on the soft bed too.

"I might die soon" Meiyo said honestly

"What?" Kakashi said shocked that she had said something so… unlike her.

"The Shikyo clan now has proof that either Ojii-san went to that village or someone else did. They will most likely deduct, from the long-range style I used that it was not Ojii-san, and once they discover that kunai with Shikyo blood on it I am doomed" Meiyo said. "Promise me something Kakashi" Meiyo said as she rolled on her side, allowing Kakashi to see her lady-like curves more clearly

"Anything" he whispered through his mask

"If you ever see a Shikyo in Konoha, tell me immediately and please, please do not follow me" Meiyo said, lightly letting the back of her fingertips dance along the side of his masked face. Mirroring Meiyo Kakashi did the same and they hardly noticed when their faces got closer and closer to each others. Meiyo could feel Kakashi's breath on her face as she slowly closed her eyes. The man on the next bed screamed, making the two teens jump onto their feet. Meiyo forced herself to calm down as the man began talking

"Where are we? How did we get here? When did we get here? What happened to me-" Meiyo got up and put her hand on her hip, the man greedily looked at her body without the cloak on and Meiyo rolled her eyes but thankful for the distraction that her outfit gave

"Why was the Shikyo clan about to attack your village?" He man was brought out his reverie by Kakashi pushing him onto the bed he was once on

"What?"

"Why was the Shikyo clan about to attack your village?"

"Ah, some fishermen found their island by accident and stole something of theirs" The man said

"What was it?"

"Half of a scroll, they gave it to me in exchange for some weapons, complete rip off though, the dang thing is in a language I had never seen before" He said and dug through his rucksack for the scroll he put in last. "Here it is" He said and handed it to Meiyo. She opened it and could make out some of the characters but not all of them, but from the few characters she remembered it looked like directions to a jutsu. Meiyo concluded the other half were the pictures of the seals

"Can I have this?" Meiyo asked, looking up at him with wide eyes and pouting slightly.

"For a price" The man said, Meiyo inwardly cringed, but if she was attacked by the Shikyo clan she needed a decent jutsu of theirs.

"What is it?" Meiyo asked, playing innocent and pivoted her foot back and forth with only the toe touching the ground

"A kiss" Meiyo mentally wanted to puke, but kept the charade up and smiled lightly

"Okay, close your eyes" She said and using her index and middle finger lightly licked them and pressed them to his lips

"Mmmm" Meiyo said, trying hard not to laugh, Kakashi was on the floor convulsing in giggles silent only because both hands covered his mouth. "

There" Meiyo said as she backed away. The man grinned triumphantly

"You will become my wife" The man said, putting his large hands on each of her shoulders, effectively trapping her.

"Aren't you engaged?" She asked, annoyed at the antics of the man in front of her

"She is nothing compared to you"

"You are too old for me, I am thirteen"

"The perfect age for marriage" Meiyo was growing angry "And think, you won't have to be a kunoichi anymore, you can cook and clean and have my children, a much better lifestyle than risking your life, besides women aren't meant to fight" With the last words hitting Meiyo's irritated and annoyed face she quickly brought her thumb to her mouth and bit down hard enough to draw blood and grabbed the arm of one of the hands holding her in front of him. He fell unconscious and fell halfway back on the bed.

"Stupid jerk, he acts as if he's a freaking Shikyo with his expectations of women, if it weren't for me the two of you would be dead in that village" Meiyo fumed, glaring at the man who had hired the two of them. "I have half a mind to kill him"

"He is not worthy enough to die by your hand" Kakashi said causing the girl to look at him "I would love to give him a good punch in the stomach though, he is twice your age"

"I know, it's disgusting" Meiyo said as she crawled under the covers "I doubt anything dangerous is going to happen for the rest of this mission, come lay down, you carried him the entire way here, you have to be more exhausted than I am." Meiyo said as she turned away from the boy who cautiously went under the covers "If you try anything I won't hesitate to castrate you and kill you with a poison that will have you wishing you could your own head off" Meiyo threatened, and the boy instinctively scoot himself away from the girl as she turned off the light that came from the table lamp on the nightstand in between the two beds.

"Goodnight Kakashi-san"

"Goodnight Meiyo-chan" He said.

Once the two were asleep their bodies instinctively went towards the other's warmth. Meiyo was found with her head tucked under his chin, head resting on his chest with a hand in a light fist next to her chin and upper body. Kakashi had one arm underneath the girl's neck, supporting her with the other arm slung around her waist, holding her close.

When the two woke up they jumped away from each other, both blushing furiously, because although they would never say it to each other, they woke up very warm and happy.


	12. A Violet Viper

I am so glad people are enjoying this story as much as I do! And the reviews for the last chapter made me so happy! This chapter was fun to write, sorry it took so long to update, I did have fun with this chapter though… I enjoy Meiyo's rage.

Also, I am so excited! This story hasn't been up that long, literally 36 days and almost has 900 views! I amso happy I am not the only one who likes this story!

Thank you to my reviewer: LadyAmazon, Ella Unlimited, ReadinFromPhone, LivelyRose, and Fyen!

Read, Enjoy, and Review!

-Otakucraze

* * *

Chapter 12

* * *

"Um… uh…" Meiyo said as the two began to run, their charge once again on Kakashi's shoulder. The two had said absolutely nothing when they jumped apart and Meiyo was growing bored. "The weather is nice today" Meiyo said having nothing else to talk about.

"Yeah" was his short reply. The two also refused to look at each other because whenever they did they began to blush.

"We should be in Tani in about an hour" Meiyo said, once again attempting to strike up a conversation

"Yep" Only to have Kakashi shoot down any possibility of it. Meiyo said, now growing bored of the silence and her teammate on this mission. Taking a deep breath she addressed the situation, a sly grin forming on her face. Kakashi noticed it in his peripheral vision and braced himself

"So about this morning, you looked very pleased with yourself" Meiyo said, inwardly hoping the conversation would not get awkward, if Kakashi allowed it to be a conversation anyway.

"If I recall you did as well" Meiyo's fist went up in the air in her mind, he said something other than a one word answer. Meiyo blushed furiously at his statement.

"I couldn't get out of your hold when I woke up" Meiyo said defensively as her blush intensified at the lie.

"You woke after me" was Kakashi's reply

"So you watched me sleep" Meiyo said, "You pervert" Meiyo glared at the boy, Kakashi looked shocked

"No, it's not like that, I didn't have the heart to wake you up so I just watched you sleep"

"Well that's not creepy at all" Meiyo said while rolling her eyes. So much for not being awkward. The rest of the trip was silent until the man woke up and they slowed down to a walk. The man kept asking question and drooling over Meiyo, and Meiyo instinctively placed Kakashi in between the man and her.

"You are so beautiful" The man said and to Meiyo's delight she could see Tani's main gate to the village

"We're here" Meiyo said happily as the man looked sad before getting on his knees in front of the teenager

"Please marry me" Meiyo looked horrified at the man, and Kakashi's hands clenched into fists by his side as he began to grind his teeth, beginning to wonder how much trouble he would be in if he killed the one he was meant to protect.

"Nakato-kuuuuun" A woman in a very expensive looking kimono yelled. The man's face paled as he cowered behind the girl, accidentally grabbing a boob instead of a shoulder. The woman looked horrified, Meiyo was getting a murderous intent in her chakra and Kakashi looked shocked, and enraged.

"GET. YOUR. HAND. OFF. MY. BOOB. NOW.!" Meiyo threatened. The man let go and looked disappointed, standing and heading to his fiancé, grabbing her boob and making her blush and swoon

"I'm disappointed, I thought your boobs were bigger, thanks for your help, bye" The man said as Meiyo's shock at the comment turned into rage and she lunged, and Kakashi intervened, grabbing Meiyo by the torso and holding her close as the two watched as the man grabbed his fiancé's rear and she gave a yelp before giggling intensely.

"I was going to kill him" Meiyo said, still thoroughly pissed off

"I know"

"I was going to make it an incredibly painful ordeal for the man too" She said

"I would have enjoyed watching it" Kakashi said honestly

"You wanted him dead too, why did you hold me back?" Meiyo asked as her rage dissipated.

"I wanted to get paid" Was his answer, in all actuality Kakashi had been pleased by her hatred of the man and took it as an opportunity to hold her close to him. He memorized her scent and could still smell the faint cinnamon and nutmeg scent that came from the girl. He was intoxicated by the scent she gave off and found that when you are close to her skin there is a faint smell of white chocolate with the spice. The money had nothing to do with the fact that he held her back, a tiny part, compared to holding her close and smelling the spice and chocolate.

"Hm" Was Meiyo's response

* * *

The two were back in Konoha showing their paperwork at nightfall, and went to the Hokage tower to check in.

"I didn't expect you for another couple of days" The Hokage said, impressed at the two teenage Jounin in front of him.

"We had a bit of a problem, Hokage-sama" Meiyo said before telling him about the Shikyo incident and the scroll she "bought" off of their charge. Meiyo and Kakashi said nothing of the behavior of the man until the Hokage said

"I received word from Nakato-san about the mission" Meiyo and Kakashi paled as the old man pulled out a scroll and read from it. "Several times I awoke to be in a completely different place than I should be, than I remember" He gave a pointed glare to Meiyo who instantly looked down ashamed. The Hokage continued reading "It seems that the graying boy-" Kakashi glared daggers at the scroll as he thought bitterly

'My hair is not "graying" it is silver' Meiyo lightly giggled at the statement, making Kakashi forget about the scroll and pay attention to the girl instead.

"-is only capable of doing manual labor, for I was on his shoulder for most of the trip unconscious. The Violet haired Viper, on the other hand was the one who had the brawn and the brains, she took down ten men with needles and saved me from an eleventh with a knife, if only she had bigger breasts-"

"What?" Meiyo yelled, absolutely infuriated.

"I do not know why he seemed to think your breasts were important-"

"No, the _Violet_ haired _Viper_? How dare he! First he cops a feel and then calls _me_ the viper? He was flirting with me the entire time, and he was twice my age, the pedophile, and has the gall to call me a snake?" Meiyo ranted, the Hokage's eyes widened

"…cop a feel?" the Hokage asked. Meiyo glared and turned her back to him

"Men are such pigs" Meiyo concluded as she glared bitterly to the floor.

"Are we free to go?"

"Yes, yes" the Hokage shook his head at the scroll as the boy ushered the girl out of the office, where she proceeded to stomp down the spiral staircase.

"Do you want to get something to eat?" Kakashi asked

"No, I feel like I want to murder something"

"Want to buy groceries so you can chop vegetables and meat to get it all out?" Kakashi asked, hoping against all hope that Meiyo would cook him dinner. Meiyo stiffened before turning swiftly to face the boy

"A perverted pedophile called me a viper after you were creepily watching me sleep and you want me to make you dinner?" Kakashi paled, maybe his idea was not the best for the situation. Meiyo glared as she waited for an answer

"It would help you feel better…?" Kakashi answered

"Typical male, what's next, you want to marry me and use my body to give you children? You want me to quit my job and become a housewife?" Meiyo ranted "Not me, I will never give my life up for a man, I will be whatever I want to be and I will not bow down to the ritualistic society's view on women in society" Meiyo said as she turned swiftly and stomped to the training grounds as she left a very confused but shocked looking Kakashi.

After standing dumbly in the middle of the street in the dark he bought ramen and brought it to his house before going off to apologize to Meiyo, he knew it was wrong to watch her sleep that morning, but she looked so peaceful, and she was so warm, and beautiful and smelled so _good. _He loved the feeling of her soft skin next to his, and her warm body snuggling closer to is in the night. He had the most amazing sleep last night too, all about Meiyo. Dreams of her going out with him, dreams of her marrying him, giving him a child, making him soup, making him rice, making him onigiri. Kakashi's stomach rumbled at the many dreams of food he had the previous night and sighed when he realized it would never happen.

"Raiton: Shikyo Ryuu Doragon Denkou (Killing Lightning Dragon of Death)" Meiyo's voiced yelled as her open hand slammed into the ground, he finger digging through it as a dragon of lightning struck up through the air and crashed down again, before repeating itself three times and disappearing. Meiyo's breath was ragged as she watched happily at the disappearing dragon before falling to her knees in exhaustion. Her previous pathetic jutsu had opened the doors to create her newest creation. The jutsu was obviously closed to A-rank, and it took about a third of her chakra reserves but the sheer force that dragon could take was awe inspiring. Kakashi looked at the burnt craters the dragon had left in its wake. "What do you want Kakashi-san" Meiyo said

"I… I bought ramen if you are hungry, and I wanted to apologize about my behavior this morning" Kakashi added, hoping the girl wouldn't turn down the food he bought, ramen wasn't good reheated.

"Ramen sounds nice" Meiyo said as her stomach rumbled loudly, causing her to blush. "But don't think I am going to forgive you just because you buy me food" Meiyo said as she stood up and wiped the dirt off of her and began to walk to Kakashi's house. Once the two were in Kakashi's house eating the lukewarm ramen Meiyo asked "So, why were you watching me sleep?"

"You looked happy" Kakashi admitted partly, he was not going to tell her the other reasons because he didn't feel like being tortured and killed, but that reason seemed the least dangerous

"Did I?" Meiyo asked slyly, not believing the boy

"You were smiling in your sleep, a truly happy smile, it's rare to see it on you" Kakashi said, reminding himself of her face on his chest "You looked truly happy, it's something I haven't seen since the festival a couple years back" Kakashi said. Meiyo looked at the boy when he was speaking her chopsticks with her noodles halfway to her face as he reminisced. She put the chopsticks back down in the bowl.

"If that is the case I forgive you" Meiyo said before going back to eating the rest of her ramen before it got cold. Kakashi walked her home and she waved before going to her shed to water her plants. She looked at the water system and sighed before she began to work on it.

* * *

Meiyo awoke tired and cranky. Her water system gave her more trouble than she thought the thing could and when she finally went to sleep, after giving up, her body woke her up as usual to the sun's first rays, giving her a total of three hours of sleep. She went downstairs and instinctively opened the refrigerator before slamming it and holding her nose and running to the bathroom to puke. She never did clean out her fridge when she got back and the food in there was now over a year old and bad, really bad. When she thought her body could resist the toilet's urge for more vomit she shakily stood before deciding that today it would be best to get groceries, and eat breakfast out, rather than in. She really didn't feel like opening the fridge anytime soon, and she was not happy she was going to have to clean it. Meiyo finger brushed her hair before putting it in a sloppy bun before heading back upstairs to do her normal morning routine before running down to the stores of downtown Konoha. She instantly picked up three pork buns and paid the woman gratefully before devouring them. Her stomach stopped its loud complaining and Meiyo set off to get vegetables and fruits before heading over to Kakashi's.

She pounded on the door until he groggily opened it, rubbing his eyes of the morning crust.

"What?" he asked tiredly

"I need your fridge" Meiyo said "I am commandeering it" She said as she pushed him aside to put her groceries on the counter

"Why?"

"Because I need food and my fridge is out of commission until I clean it out, which can be never as far as I am concerned." Meiyo said as she began to rearrange his fridge to put her stuff in

"You can't just use my fridge" Kakashi said as his brain finally caught up with what was happening

"Why can't I it's already done" Meiyo said as she put the last of the fish in the bottom drawer "You weren't using it to its highest potential anyway." Meiyo said as she rubbed her hands together in a "I'm finished" way before turning "Besides I was planning on giving you some of whatever I make anyway" the girl said when she noticed the peeved face of the silver-haired boy. He relaxed instantly at the thought of her cooking. "Anyway, I need to go talk to the Hokage, I'll be back" Meiyo said as she left the boy still holding the door as he looked at the spot next to his fridge and the door where she just left and shrugged, closing the door and heading back to his bed to sleep more.

Meiyo knocked on the Hokage's door twice before barging in

"I need to discuss something with you…" Meiyo said to the old man behind the desk.

* * *

Why exactly do you need an apartment?" Kakashi asked as he helped her move

"Because, the Shikyo know that Ojii-san lives here" Meiyo said as she motioned the house she was in "And they do not know I exist, or what I look like and I want to keep it that way, this is probably the first place they will look and if it looks deserted than I have a better chance of staying alive" Meiyo said as she ushered Kakashi out of the house with a large box of her bedroom items and once she heard him go out the door she quickly opened the experimental door with a quick flick of the wrist at the genjutsu tag and popped open the necessary planks of wood to get half of the clan's most coveted treasure, the blood sword. Meiyo replaced the tag and sealed the room off with genjutsu and finished packing her room, leaving the two twin beds where they were. She had already purchased a new bigger mattress with the money she had received from the last mission and was excited to sleep on something where she didn't need to keep perfectly still in the middle of the bed of fear of falling off of it.

Kakashi was already at the apartment unloading items when Meiyo came in with the last of it. She tried to keep as much of the big furniture in the old house as possible, so it looked abandoned, but it was difficult when the new apartment had nothing. She also had the lovely issue of how she was going to pay for the residential area of the house and the apartment and sighed.

"Life sucks" Meiyo said as she finished putting the remainder of her clothes on hangers and in her closet. The apartment seemed so bland compared to the character of her room in the old house, it had a small enclosed balcony where Meiyo planned on keeping her poisonous plants and another smaller room with a closet where she planned on sealing off with another genjutsu tag and hiding her sword in the closet and using the small room as her poison center. Meiyo had already set up all the plants in the small room before she forced Kakashi into helping her move. All she had to mention was food and he gladly offered his help. Meiyo fell backwards on her bed and sighed, she loved the new bed she got and her back loved it even more. She was tempted to fall asleep when her friend's stomach grumbled and Meiyo sighed as she got up. "Let's go over to your place so I can cook" Meiyo said since she did not take any pot or pans or cooking utensils. She did take some chopsticks and a fork, spoon, and knife, but she dared not take anymore. She wanted it to seem like no one lived there and it had been abandoned, which could not be done if she kept taking everything. Kakashi like the idea of food, especially Meiyo's food and sped out of her apartment before she could even stand up. She chuckled at the boy's excitement

"It's like he's never had food before" Meiyo muttered to herself as she headed over to Kakashi's house, locking the door on the way out.

Meiyo made takoyaki and Kakashi nearly ate the entire thing.

"Next time you are buying groceries" Meiyo said threateningly with her chopsticks

"Why?"

"Because you eat more than I do" Meiyo said simply. Kakashi shrugged

"If I buy the groceries will you cook?" Kakashi asked, wide-eyed at his brilliant idea. Meiyo thought about it as she chewed her food. Technically it would help her with her financial problem. She shrugged.

"Sure" Kakashi jumped up and grabbed her and pulled her to her feet

"Let's get more groceries!" He said and Meiyo was amused by the fact she had never seen someone so excited to buy groceries.

Meiyo's amusement faded however in a teenager in green spandex looking at fruit.

"Kakashi-san!" The boy said with enthusiasm and a smile that blinded the girl temporarily. Meiyo's mood was shot… again. "… and the youthful maiden? I haven't seen you in years!" Gai said as he grabbed the girl's hands

'I made it a point to hide whenever I sensed his chakra signature…. Dang it Kakashi, because of you I had my guard down!' Meiyo though bitterly, not even attempting to get out of his grasp, it was a futile effort.

"… festival?" Gai finished, looking at the younger girl with a pleading look

"What?" Meiyo asked,

"I said will you go to the festival with me?"

"No"

"Why not"

"I'm not going"

"But you must, you look so youthful and pretty in a kimono"

"They are instruments of torture" Meiyo concluded, adding a "that's final" look to the boy with the caterpillars on his face where his eyebrows should be. Gai looked downcast and finally let the girl's hand go and Meiyo took that as her chance to shop for the fruit and vegetables that this particular stand had and let Kakashi deal with the odd boy instead of her. As predicted with Meiyo distracted with fruit Gai looked up with a new determination and grabbed the aloof masked shinobi and pulled him aside "I challenge you my eternal rival"

"I'm sorry, what?"

"Oh, so hip and cool, just to be expected from the legendary copy ninja Kakashi! I challenge you"

"Isn't it my turn to choose?" Kakashi said dejectedly, Gai ignored him

"The one who gets the lovely youthful maiden to go to the festival wins" Gai said, positive that he would win. Kakashi smirked, as he thought it would be easy.

"No, Kakashi-_chan_" Meiyo said, "And that is final I am not going to the stupid festival!" Meiyo said

* * *

The Next Year

* * *

"Nope"

"Come on Meiyo"

"Absolutely not"

"Why not?"

"I have a mission that day"

* * *

Later That Day

* * *

"Hokage-sama do you have any missions available during the festival, I don't care what rank they are"

"I have a mission, but you need a partner"

* * *

Three weeks later

* * *

"Your debt to me keeps rising Meiyo" Ibiki said to a very angry Meiyo and handed his paperwork to the guard and Meiyo pounded her hand on the table with her paperwork underneath it, seething. The guards looked shocked

"Did you hear?" Someone in the distance, but still in the girl's hearing range asked

"What?"

"Apparently there is a Konoha kunoichi that was the most powerful poison; rumor says she even has venom herself"

Meiyo began to growl

"Oh what is she called?"

"The Deadly Violet Viper"

Meiyo growled and the guards got a look of understanding

"You're the Deadly Violet Viper?" Meiyo grabbed one of the guards and Ibiki forced the enraged girl off the guard.

"Your debt gets higher and higher" Ibiki muttered as he led the girl to the Hokage's tower

"I hate my nick-name" Meiyo spat.


	13. The Other Purple Haired Girl

I am so glad people are enjoying this story as much as I do! And the reviews for the last chapter made me so happy! This chapter was fun to write, sorry it took so long to update. OVER A 1000 PEOPLE HAVE READ THIS STORY! I am so happy and excited!

Thank you to my reviewer: LadyAmazon, Ella Unlimited!

Read, Enjoy, and Review!

-Otakucraze

* * *

Chapter 13

* * *

"Hey Meiyo-chan" Kakashi said happily

"Shut up" Meiyo said as she walked past him angrily. The boy looked confused before looking up to see Ibiki walking down the steps of the Hokage Tower. He jerked a thumb to the girl

"What's wrong with her?"

"She doesn't like her nick-name" He said simply

"Which is?"

"The Deadly Violet Viper" Ibiki said, smirking. Kakashi laughed

"That name actually stuck?" Kakashi said through laughs. An apple hit him square in the head

"I heard that" Meiyo said angrily to the masked boy

"So?" Kakashi said

"No dinner tonight" Meiyo snarled.

"What? No, wait Meiyo!" Kakashi said as he ran to catch up to the girl that stormed off. "I'm sorry" Kakashi said walking side by side to the angry girl

"Viper? Why the hell did viper stick? Do you think I act like a snake?"

"… sometimes…" Kakashi said honestly. Meiyo glared at the boy before snarling

"Why do I act like a viper… no when, when do I act like a viper?" Meiyo threatened, getting her head closer to Kakashi's.

"Right now" Kakashi said slowly. Meiyo scowled.

"I do not act like a viper" Meiyo said, stating it as if it were obvious. Kakashi looked in shock at the girl.

"Being a viper isn't a bad thing" Kakashi said slowly. She turned her head slowly until her eyes met his, her eyes were narrow and dangerous looking. Kakashi gulped before continuing, he had to phrase it in a way that wouldn't make her attempt to kill him "I mean, you make poison and are deadly accurate, like a viper, where one strike can kill. You are seductive, just like a viper and can be deceiving to your prey, like a viper. Being a viper isn't a bad thing if you think of in those terms" Kakashi said, still wording things the best he could, which seemed to work since Meiyo's rage began to lessen. Meiyo kicked the building she was next to

"People say I have venom" Meiyo said

"Why do they say that?" Kakashi said and she gave him a look that clearly said 'not-in-public' so Kakashi led her to his house and repeated. "Why do they say you have venom?"

"Well it happened on the mission I was just on…"

_Ibiki and Meiyo were temporarily captured and Meiyo, unlike her interrogation training, was provoking the people torturing her._

"_You are nothing, you're worthless, and spineless" Meiyo said seething, nearly in a hiss. _

"_She's a little viper isn't she?" The guard interrogating Ibiki said. Meiyo scoffed at the man_

"_Who are you calling a viper you cock-sucking motherfu#$er?" Meiyo yelled to have her interrogator slap her. She looked at him with malice "f#$k you" she said before biting her lip until it bled and spitting right as he opened his mouth to yell at her. The spit landed right in his mouth, surprising them both and the man got on his knees as his lungs collapsed and soon after he was dead. The other interrogator ran to his partner._

"_What did you do?" He said, shocked. Meiyo smirked. He drew a kunai and got closer "What did you do?"_

"_This" Meiyo said before spitting the spit landed on his arm and the blood in the saliva took effect and he fell unconscious, falling on the tied up girl. The arm with the kunai fell in her lap and she leaned down as far as her bindings would allow her as she did the same with her legs. With a bit of stretching she was able to get the kunai in her mouth and with a tug she got it out of the man's arm. Sliding the kunai to wear she had the tip in her mouth she was able to turn her head and position the kunai where her shoulder and her jawbone was supporting it. With a shrug of her shoulders she dropped the kunai and felt it pass her fingers and fall to the ground. Meiyo growled and began rocking the chair until it tipped over. She wiggled around as Ibiki just watched, amused. Finally Meiyo got the kunai in her hand and began cutting her bindings and once her hands were free she did the same with her legs, before getting Ibiki out of his bindings as well._

"When I was in trouble, before we acquired our stolen gear I would use my bloody spit." Meiyo said, Kakashi laughed, and Meiyo glared

"You should be happy they didn't call you the Deadly Violet Camel" Kakashi said as he laughed at his joke. Meiyo pounced, and he dodged running out of his house laughing his head off as he left a seething Meiyo in his wake.

Meiyo grumbled as she went to a clothing store and began purchasing items "They want a viper, they'll get one"

Meiyo went to her apartment and dumped her new clothes on the bed before grabbing the deep vibrant colored fabric and her black waist cinchers and went to work with her small tubes, making it so the tubes were sewn into the waist cincher in a vertical gone v pattern for easy plucking in a battle. Meiyo made it so the vials were detachable and went to work with the rest of her clothes. She even went out of her way to purchase the high-heeled ninja sandals she swore she would never wear, but figured now was not the time for comfort, it was a time for a drastic statement. Meiyo cut and hemmed her bundle of clothes before changing. Her black and purple cincher was exchanged for a deep vibrant iridescent blue coupled with a form fitting v neck tank that hung to her body in an iridescent green, with a purple ruffled mini skirt in an iridescent purple. Meiyo's thigh high stockings were a deep iridescent teal, as were her arm-warmers. Meiyo looked at herself and smirked.

"Now for the finishing touches," Meiyo said as she pulled out her make-up. She applied her dark vibrant eye-shadow in a smoky eye, and grabbed her eyeliner and made a cat eye swoop. Meiyo was never one for eye make-up, she usually just added a bit of mascara, blush, and lip gloss. But for her statement she would go all out. After applying foundation and adding blush, she took out the deepest red lipstick she had and applied it as well. She stood back and stared. Something was missing. She never finished her hair. Meiyo brushed the long violet locks of hair before putting it in a high ponytail. "If only I had fangs" Meiyo mused, "than this would be perfect." Meiyo got up and went to the door. She took a deep breath for courage and walked outside. Her nerves were going wild at the thought of people ogling her, but she let it slide, she had to keep strong. She began practicing her walk, long, slow strides, like a snake, and a cool, but vicious attitude, like a viper ready to strike. Once down the corridor and down the stairs Meiyo took another deep breath and walked down the street to Kakashi's house. "I'll show you Deadly Violet Camel" Meiyo muttered before regaining herself. She knocked on the door and waited for Kakashi to open the door. When the boy did he nearly fainted

"What the hell are you wearing?"

"Clothes" Meiyo said as she pushed herself inside

"I know that, but, you don't look like yourself"

"If people are going to call me a viper than I am going to dress and act like one"

"You already act like one, you don't need to dress like one" Kakashi said, as he turned, closing the door. "You shouldn't take this so seriously" He added as he watched her hips move side to side as she walked, he couldn't keep his eyes off of her rear, or her curves, or her breasts. Kakashi made sure to bring a book with him wherever he went just so he could inadvertently watch her body while pretending to read. But there are only so many times you could read "1001 Jutsus." He had the book with him for a month now and Meiyo was getting suspicious, once she grabbed the book and looked what he was "reading" and raised an eyebrow at him for the page was on the teleportation jutsu. Things went downhill from there; he was on the search for a book that was light and small enough to fit in a pocket that he could pretend to read over and over again. He found it to be very difficult.

The girl turned and tilted her head slightly, her mouth set in a frown "People are annoying, and if I ignore them than they will continue to talk about me, it's better if I give them something to talk about" Meiyo said

"But a nick-name is a good thing; enemies will fear you and you will bring Konoha to an even higher respected level"

"That's nice, but with this new "venom" rumor going around it will only take the Shikyo clan to think a few moments before coming to investigate" Meiyo said, scowling "They already checked the house"

"What?" Kakashi said surprised "When?"

"Two months after that mission we last had together"

"How did you know?"

"You don't think I put protective measures on the house?"

"What are they looking for?"

"Two swords, I have one and Nenriki has the other" Meiyo said

"You mean had, not has"

"No, I mean has, it is with him right now"

"He was buried with it?"

"Better than with me, ne?"

"I guess, where is yours?"

"Classified Information" Meiyo said.

Everything was beginning to make sense around the girl in Kakashi's head. She had the ever present worry that the Shikyo would come and find her, to find a sword.

"What's so special about the sword?"

"Classified information"

"What can you tell me?" Kakashi said, currently peeved at the lack of information he was getting from the girl

"Well after they find out Nenriki is dead they won't hesitate to kill me for the sword"

"Why?"

"The swords are created to be used by twins, one person cannot wield both swords, and they are bonded with the blood of a pair of twins. If one of the twins dies than the swords are up for grabs. If a sword is dropped and someone grabs it while the other twin is still alive the life is taken from the person. Once bonded the swords can only have a different owner if one or both of the twins dies" Meiyo said. Kakashi looked confused "Let me explain it these ways, say the swords are a special type of summon. Like a summon, you have to bond with blood. But unlike a regular summon, in order to use their services a pair of twins needs to simultaneously bond with the summon. Also, no one else can bond with the summon until those previously bonded with the summon are dead. The contract is null and void if one of the twins dies as well" Meiyo said.

"So you cannot use the sword because Nenriki is dead"

"Correct"

"What happens if you do?"

"The sword sucks my soul out of my body"

"Can you touch it?"

"Yes, I just can't kill with it" Meiyo said.

"What a weird treasure"

"Shikyo clan's treasure, did you honestly expect anything different?"

"Not really, still shocking that you are from their clan"

"Only partly"

* * *

Two Months Later

* * *

Meiyo walked down the streets of Konoha and was glad most of the people in the village had gotten used to her new look. Meiyo looked to the side as her ears picked up squabbling. Going over to investigate she noticed a purple haired kunoichi surrounded by older boys. The girl looked like she was going to cry at the things they were saying to her. Meiyo thought she looked familiar and tried to place her.

"Stupid snake, you're not loyal to Konoha, why don't you run off to Orochimaru?" One of them said and Meiyo realized who she was. A few years back ANBU found a girl her age completely battered and realized she was a Konoha Nin, her sensei, Orochimaru had experimented on her and left her to die. Her name was Mitarashi Anko. Meiyo wondered if this been going on for the past couple years? She didn't deserve it, she was the victim!

"Are snakes really that unloyal?" Meiyo asked, the boys turned to her and looked ready to argue until they realized she was the Violet Viper.

"V-Violet Viper-san!" The one who made the previous comment said, bowing "Of course not! But she-"

"Is a poor innocent victim, it is you" Meiyo said giving a pointed glare to the older boys "That are the unloyal ones. Who do you think you are to treat a fellow shinobi from your own village this way?" Meiyo ranted, as she began to get angry

"Bu-But she could go back to Orochimaru at any time Viper-san" Another boy piped. Meiyo remembered that the details from the ANBU report were confidential, and Anko looked up with big purple eyes, trying to place how the girl looked familiar.

"Who would want to?" Meiyo said, snarling before asking "Did you ask if she was going to?" Meiyo asked pointedly. The boys stood there before slowly shaking their heads no "Unloyal idiot Nin" Meiyo said before kneeling in front of the girl who scooted back slightly. Meiyo inwardly sighed, had the rumors become that fictitious? She changed her tone for the girl giving her a smile, Anko relaxed a bit, the girl had only seen the Hokage smile at her and some evil smiles of some of the older boys, but her smile was kind and gentle. "Do you think you would go back to Orochimaru anytime soon?" Meiyo asked kindly. Anko shook her head no instantly, too afraid to speak to this kind person that she still couldn't place. "Well then it's settled, now leave before I make those rumors true with your bodies" Meiyo said as she stood and turned, her eyes narrowing and flashing dangerously. The boys ran off and Meiyo turned and helped the girl up. Meiyo looked down to see obvious boy clothes and a dirty face and wondered if this is what she looked like when she was younger and being trained by Kuikku.

"Thank you"

"It's no problem, but you need to stick up for yourself" Meiyo said, pushing the girl lightly on the shoulder "You are a kunoichi, and one that has a horrible past thanks to the efforts of that idiotic creepy man" Meiyo said, sticking her tongue out in disgust. Anko looked at her in shock, no had described her old sensei in such a manner before. "Do boys usually corner you like that?" Meiyo asked, and Anko slowly nodded. "Well then, I have a secret to make it stop nearly instantly. Anko looked up, now intrigued. Meiyo nodded and continued "Men are pigs, if you show a bit of skin they become a drooling pile of dog shit." Anko laughed at her description, Meiyo smiled "By showing a bit of skin their minds become mush and their guards drop just to watch you walk past. I assassinated a lot of people using this method" Meiyo admitted. "And now I will help you, come on" Meiyo said as she grabbed the girl's hand and dragged her, almost literally, to the shopping center, going to her favorite store.

"Pick a mini skirt and a form fitting shirt" Meiyo ordered to the now very self conscious girl

"What?"

"You heard me" Meiyo said threateningly and the girl complied. Her shirt was full length and the mini was as long as she could get and once in the dressing room to try them on she wouldn't come out.

"Why not"

"I- I don't want to" Anko said frightened. Meiyo sighed and looked around and saw a trench coat, and got an idea.

"I will make you a deal" Meiyo said after grabbing a trench that looked like it would fit her "If you choose a shirt that is more revealing, you can wear this on top of it" Meiyo said as she threw the garment over the door. Anko opened the door peeked her head out of the crack.

"Okay" Anko, already back in her regular clothes chose a top that was a little more than what a bra covered and came out to shyly model for the kunoichi.

"Perfect, go pay for it" Meiyo said as she pointed to the register. Anko complied and soon left the store in her new outfit. After her shower Meiyo attacked her hair, combing it with a lot of complaints from the other purple-haired girl until Meiyo threatened to kill her with the brush she held in her hand.

Once her hair was brushed Meiyo tried a variety of different hairstyles on the girl before deciding g on a messy bun. It framed her face nicely and Anko seemed to like it best, even if she was pouting and had her arms and legs crossed the entire time.

* * *

Anko was surprised that Meiyo had been correct and that the boys instantly left her alone because they were ogling her instead. Her confidence soon came back and it was when she was walking down the streets when her brain finally met with how she recognized the girl

"The academy, she was Nenriki-san's twin sister!"


	14. Shikyo Blood

I am so glad people are enjoying this story as much as I do! And the reviews for the last chapter made me so happy! This chapter was not fun to write and is slightly depressing, and I apologize in advance! On a happy note, almost 1200 people have read this story!

Thank you to my reviewer: LadyAmazon, Ella Unlimited!

Read, Enjoy, and please, please Review, I like to hear what you think!

-Otakucraze

* * *

Chapter 14

* * *

One Year and Eight Months Later

* * *

Meiyo and Anko became friends quickly after that day, and Meiyo ensured that no one dared to treat her as she had been. Anko admired her new friend, and for once Meiyo had a friend that was a female, that was her own age. Meiyo was glad Anko was not like the other girls, who were so in tune with what the boys were doing that they didn't bother to focus on the task at hand, their career. Anko refused to be that was, and Meiyo was glad. The two loved to annoy the masked boy too, often times tripping him and calling him the Catty- Ninja Kakashi. He would simply glare as the girls laughed and giggled, and would reply to Meiyo "At least I don't spit like a camel" Meiyo would retaliate with pouncing and a fight would ensue as Anko watched cheering for Meiyo.

Kakashi didn't really like Anko, simply because she would prank him in such a vicious manner. But seeing as Meiyo was laughing and having a good time with her new friend, he kept silent. He hadn't seen her smile while fully conscious since she was with Obito, and was glad she was, even if it was at his expense. Of course he would never tell her this, even after the two purple haired girls would draw on his face, dye his mask pink and dye his hair blue (and oh did he get pissed at the two over that), seeing her smile like that kept his anger in check, and often times he would laugh along with them.

But alas, as Meiyo would attest to, happiness is not permanent. Meiyo and Anko were happily walking and laughing when someone zipped past her, grabbing her in the process and pushed her up against the wall, kissing her. Meiyo was shocked, even more so when she realized it was Kakashi, her face heating up. Anko just stared in shock as Meiyo slowly melted into the kiss, enjoying it before she reminded herself of her promise, and pushed him off her lightly. She tried to act flustered, but her mind was in a blur, when she looked up at the boy his mask was securely in place and looked unsure of her reaction. Meiyo wanted nothing more to push him against the wall pull down his mask and continue kissing him, but when she scanned his face, still slightly shocked, she reminded herself that this was Kakashi, who would not do something this rash without reason.

"Wha-?" Meiyo tried to say, her mouth found it hard to form the sounds necessary to form the sentence she wanted to say. Meiyo noticed his slight smirk and turned a slight shade more red.

Kakashi savored the moment, knowing that what he was about to say would spoil the mood tremendously, and with her shocked, yet intensely pleased state, with her face red he wanted nothing more than to grab her and pull her close to finish what he started. But he knew he could not.

"Shikyo clan" Meiyo's red face began to drain itself of all color as her eyes went wide with fright and her mouth opened slightly.

If the situation wasn't so dire Kakashi would point out how adorable she looked at that moment.

"Where" Meiyo asked, shock worn off completely from her first kiss she just received.

"Just walked past" Kakashi said and in an instant Meiyo was peeking around the corner and sure enough two midnight black haired men were walking away from the alley Kakashi had taken her too. Meiyo began to get angry that Kakashi stole her first kiss and had to readjust her focus on the current situation. The Shikyo clan had already searched the house, meaning that the two men were casually looking for the Violet Viper. Meiyo sighed and leaned against the wall and began to slide down, her head in her hands as ideas roamed through her head.

The Shikyo were not known for their patience, Meiyo reminded herself, and if she hid and they got tired of her waiting the entire city would be destroyed. Meiyo had to think of an alternative.

The wind blew her purple hair, her eyes widened, why was she so _dumb_? Standing up with new found confidence she left the alley, leaving a confused Kakashi and Anko in her wake. She just had to play as if she was not a Shikyo, it couldn't be _that_ hard…

Meiyo walked past the two men on purpose and as suspected they grabbed her arm, Meiyo turned, feigning confusion.

"Can I help you?" Meiyo asked

"Are you the Violet Viper of Konoha?" One asked in complete monotone

"…yes" Meiyo answered, fake confusion slipping in her voice

"What is your name?" Meiyo was about to answer truthfully when she remembered the last time she met the Shikyo clan in the village by the sea. Her mind quickly spit out the first last name she could think of

"Hatake Meiyo" She answered, mentally slapping her forehead in shame by making herself related to Kakashi

"Do you know a Kodowari Nagori?"

"Yeah" Meiyo answered, truthful once more, this was going to be fun

"Where is she?"

"Dead" Meiyo answered, quite proud of her little act, she didn't know why she was so scared of this occurring

"What about Shikyo Trinian?"

"I haven't heard of that name before" Meiyo answered

"He owns the residence behind the weapon shop"

"He died with the Kyuubi attack, if I recall correctly," Meiyo said, mentally smug with how well this was going.

"One last thing" The other man said, speaking for the first time, Meiyo turned her attention to him when he whipped out a kunai and threw it at her, she caught it effortlessly between her fingers and a liquid feeling hit her senses.

"Is this… bloo-?" Meiyo said before swooning and falling backwards, kunai dropping from her fingers as she feigned unconsciousness, she held her breath and let it out slowly, willing her heartbeat to slow to a nice even pace.

"She isn't a Shikyo" The man said "Or related to one, the so called venom she produces is probably a myth or a Kekkei Genkai, and Ryuu said he overheard the name of the girl, Kodowari, we need to verify Trinian and this Nagori are in the cemetery, but this Meiyo girl is no one of importance" Meiyo overheard, still holding her breath.

"Meiyo!" Kakashi yelled as he ran past the Shikyo to the girl

"Her story on her name checks out, he wasn't in the immediate hearing range of the discussion" The other man said. Meiyo kept still as Kakashi picked her up to put her in his lap checking to see if she was alive. Meiyo memorized their chakra signatures and followed them until out of range, still pretending to be unconscious the boy, followed by a worried Anko took the girl to the hospital. Meiyo waited ten minutes before opening her eyes and taking a big sigh of relief, while Kakashi screamed in her ear in fright

"What the hell?"

"Did you like my acting job?" Meiyo asked, sitting up and noticing she was now fully on Kakashi's lap she moved over, face bright red, Kakashi sported an unseen blush when she realized the situation. Without warning a loud slap rang through the air and Kakashi's head went with the force, a look of complete shock in the air as Meiyo stood up in front of him, she glared down at the now shocked and confused boy and growled. "You have a lot to explain"

"Li-Like what?" Kakashi stuttered out

"Li-Like how" Meiyo mocked sadistically, "you decided that the best way to keep me out of sight from my clan was by STEALING MY FIRST KISS!" Meiyo screamed. Kakashi was taken aback, he always assumed that with the amount of flirting she did on a daily basis, that usually had him snarling and glaring daggers at the boy she was doing it to, that she had had her first kiss years ago, he just wanted an excuse to have her close, and he could still feel how her lips felt against his...

"It was an adequate distraction" Kakashi said, and noticed that the entire waiting room, besides Anko, were not masking their curiosity of the situation, Anko on the other hand shared Meiyo's anger and stood in a mirror-like fashion to the girl, hands on hips and body leaning slightly towards his. Kakashi could see, from what Meiyo's top would allow, the valley in between her breasts and forced himself to look up at the very angry face of the girl he kissed. "To the Shikyo's eyes we were passionate lovers and Anko just happened to find us in the alley" Kakashi finished, to him his plan was flawless, Meiyo thought otherwise

"You couldn't think of any other possibility?" The girl snarled Anko nodded her head in agreement "You couldn't just drag me into an alley?"

"I followed the two from the main gate, Meiyo-chan, they already spotted the two of you, and if I just dragged you into an alley it would look suspicious."

Meiyo glared, and Anko's anger began to cease

"Given the circumstances, I think he's right" she said, and Kakashi wanted to hug the snake girl, the real one, not the Violet viper, because for once, the girl was on his side. Meiyo's anger ceased towards the masked boy, but she continued to frown.

As much as Kakashi wanted to apologize he couldn't, he enjoyed kissing Meiyo, he had wanted to for the longest time, and now that he finally had he couldn't go up to the girl and say "Sorry I kissed you, I didn't mean to, and it didn't mean anything" because to Kakashi he finally got to tell Meiyo, without words just passion, how he felt, and she responded. How could he apologize for something that she enjoyed? They both enjoyed the kiss. Kakashi mulled it over in his mind as he watched the girl leave, heading in the direction to the Hokage Tower. Anko patted the boy on his shoulder

"She'll come around" She said before she too exited the hospital. Kakashi felt like banging his head on a wall or something hard. He just ruined the relationship Meiyo and he had, and had absolutely no idea how to fix it.

* * *

"So they think you are not a Shikyo"

"Pretty sure, not 100% though, since they could technically still be watching." Meiyo said truthfully, she knew of the Shikyo clan but did not understand the inner workings of their mind, and she prayed she never did.

"To be on the safe side I recommend you stay away from using your blood on missions" the Hokage said and Meiyo nodded, there went her trump card. "I am also promoting you to ANBU, while in ANBU you are not allowed to use your Kekkei Genkai and may use a limited number of poisons, but it would be best if you didn't use them at all, just to make sure people don't associate your ANBU mask for the Violet Viper." Meiyo nodded again

"If you don't mind me asking, Hokage-sama, how am I supposed to be the Hunter-Nin if I can't use poison or my Kekkei Genkai?" Meiyo asked, genuinely curious.

"You are not becoming an ANBU Hunter-Nin, you are promoted to just a regular ANBU. I recommend you take this time away from poisons and your blood to remind yourself how to work in a four man team and to rely on jutsu" the Hokage said before dismissing her to get her new ANBU gear. Meiyo was shocked, she felt like the rug she was standing on got ripped out from underneath her. She had become so accustomed with using her blood and her poisons as weapons that she seemed unsure of herself and her jutsu using abilities. Meiyo sighed, she needed someone to train with, someone to remind her of the jutsu she had forgotten and teach her new jutsu as well, and only one person she knew could do both, the Copy- Nin Kakashi.

* * *

Meiyo hesitated at Kakashi's door, still peeved that the boy stole her first kiss and gave her no warning of it. Meiyo took a deep breath and got one knock in before Kakashi opened the door. He allowed her inside and she made herself comfortable on his couch.

"I need your help" Meiyo said after a long pause. Meiyo was not accustomed to asking for help, and this took a lot out of her to do it. Kakashi looked shocked at her before sitting down next to her. Meiyo wanted to scoot away, but her body reminded her of his lips on hers, the passion and the warmth that she had been given by the boy and stayed put where she was

"I am honestly surprised you would be asking me for help when you were so mad at me" Kakashi answered softly.

"I need you to help me with Ninjutsu" Meiyo said, ignoring his comment and looking up into his one dark grey eye

"Why"

"The Hokage says it would be unwise to use my Kekkei Genkai and poisons after what happened" Meiyo whispered, being extra cautious.

"What do you want to learn?"

"Anything that will be useful in battle. I am pretty rusty since I haven't been focusing on that aspect in training." Meiyo admitted

"Okay, I'll help. Tomorrow at the training grounds?"

"Sure"

Meiyo stood up to leave but Kakashi grabbed her arm

"I know you are still mad at me but I want you to know that I would apologize but it wouldn't be real, it wouldn't be true. I enjoyed the kiss as much as I believe you did, I won't deny that" He said, searching her eyes for a reaction. She looked strained

"It is too dangerous to have a relationship with me, ever. Besides" Meiyo said, sucking in a painful breath "I promised myself I wouldn't fall in love with you" Meiyo said painfully. She watched as Kakashi looked heartbroken and she understood how he felt, she was feeling something similar. Her heart ached at her words, but she was right. With the Shikyo clan knowing what she looked like it was too dangerous for anyone close to her, and if her past was any testament, death seemed to follow her around like her shadow. She was cursed, and didn't want Kakashi to die because of her, not when she could feel the throbbing heartstrings that she understood as love. This whole thing was a huge mess, and Meiyo left quietly, heading solemnly to the store, forgetting to do a chakra signature sweep in her despair, and was intercepted by a boy in green spandex

"My youthful maiden! You don't look particularly youthful today, are you alright?" The boy asked. Meiyo attempted to dodge him but it was useless.

"I just don't feel good today" Meiyo said, eyes downcast.

"Well I know what will make you feel better" Meiyo looked up incredulously at the boy "You can go to the festival with me" Meiyo scowled

'This stupid festival thing again?'

"No, I have a mission that day" Meiyo lied

* * *

"Sorry Meiyo-chan, there are no missions during the festival" the Hokage said "And if you don't mind me asking, why so you ask every year?"

"I don't like festivals"

"Ah"

"Tell me if a mission opens up" Meiyo said and the Hokage nodded, motioning for her to get out of his office.

* * *

Meiyo went home depressed. She was not looking forward to seeing the boy she had destroyed the next day, and wished she had asked someone else. Tears formed in her eyes and she wiped them away quickly, picking up her new ANBU mask that was in the face of a fox. Eyes downcast she put the mask on her vanity and placed the ANBU uniform and arm and leg shield next to the mask before curling up underneath her covers. She ignored the sunlight filtering in her room and allowed her tears to flow freely

"I can't be in a relationship with him" Meiyo said, and began repeating it, slowly her body shut down and she fell asleep, mascara running down her cheeks as it mixed with the tears, her eye shadow smudged and going to her hairline on one side of her face. Her lips stick was smudged and her lip was lightly bleeding from biting it.

Meiyo dreamt of another world where Meiyo had no need to worry about Kakashi's life and was able to have a relationship with him.

Meiyo wished with all her heart that her dream would become reality, because her future looked grim, and her present life looked dull. Her dream was filled with color and happiness while reality was depressing and bleak. How the girl wished she could just melt into her dream and never wake up.


	15. A Bouquet of Flowers

I am so glad people are enjoying this story as much as I do! And the reviews for the last chapter made me so happy! This chapter was a blast to write and I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed writing it!

Thank you to my reviewer: Ella Unlimited, and cbarreto!

Read, Enjoy, and please, please Review, I like to hear what you think!

-Otakucraze

* * *

Chapter 15

* * *

Because of the lack of missions the fifteen year old wondered around Konoha, bored.

"Meiyo-san!" A girl's voice said and Meiyo turned to see a bob of brown hair collide against her legs. The girl looked up and grinned, "Meiyo-san!" Meiyo smiled down at the girl attached to her legs

"Hello Tenten, how are you?" Meiyo said as she knelt down in front of the girl, noticing her disheveled buns on either side of her hair. Meiyo instinctively went to fix it.

"Meiyo-san, can you help me?" Tenten asked and Meiyo looked down at the girl lovingly

"What do you need help with?"

"We just learned how to throw a kunai at the academy today and sensei told me I need extra practice. Who else is better to practice with than the great Violet Viper-sama?" Tenten said excitedly. Meiyo grinned at the girl before she nodded in agreement and watched as Tenten's eyes lit up with excitement and she started hopping in place. Meiyo stood and let the four year old lead her to the training ground she wanted to train at.

Once at the target area Meiyo sat on a grassy patch and watched the younger girl throw the kunai and watched her get frustrated when it hit the hay instead of the target. Meiyo stood and corrected her stance.

"Don't be so robotic in your throwing motion, you need to act more fluid, and the kunai should be thrown with a flick of the wrist, not wound up as if you are going to throw a ball or a rock" Meiyo said and stood back as Tenten corrected herself. This time the kunai hit the target, but the outer rung. Tenten glared "Don't get angry, your form was much better, now you just need to focus on aim" Meiyo said and taught her what tricks she knew that helped the older girl with her aim. Tenten soaked up the information and Meiyo watched proudly as the kunai the younger girl threw went closer and closer to the middle. Once the weapon hit dead center Tenten hugged the older girl and Meiyo gingerly hugged the girl back

"Thank you so much Meiyo-san, wait until I tell my classmates that the great Violet Viper-sama taught me how to throw a kunai!" Tenten said excitedly. Meiyo smiled kindly down at the girl

"Just remember that your skills will get rusty if you don't practice" Meiyo said, and Tenten nodded before running off. Meiyo smiled in the direction the younger girl was running before determining the time by the position of the sun and determined it was time to head off to the training grounds to receive her lesson from Kakashi.

Needless to say these meetings were extremely awkward at first, and Meiyo had never realized just how rusty her Ninjutsu was until the two started sparring. But Meiyo was getting better and the sparing the couple did was becoming increasingly more violent and deadly just by the jutsu they used. A couple times Meiyo had to be taken to the hospital because of injuries during the spar, but not once had Kakashi needed to. Mostly because when things were getting more violent he would use the sharingan and evade and deter the onslaught of attacks made by the girl. Meiyo insisted that he was cheating. Kakashi reminded her that not everyone would play fair and if he ever landed in the hospital because of the girl he would treat her to dinners out for a month. Kakashi usually never had a scratch on him when he left the training grounds while Meiyo often times left burnt, bruised, cut, and exhausted.

* * *

The festival was getting closer and Meiyo had to deal with a boy in spandex and a masked boy asking her out for the festivities. Since Meiyo had yet to receive a mission since upgraded to ANBU she had to deal with the two. Kakashi was probably the worst out of the two since he knew that she had no missions to rely on and was dead set on getting Meiyo to go this year.

"Come with me to the festival" Kakashi said casually during dinner.

"No"

"Meiyo, would you please be my date" Kakashi asked as they sparred. Meiyo growled in response

"Please Meiyo" Kakashi said while carrying her to the hospital, Meiyo scowled, ignoring him

"Meiyo, I don't want to have to face my fan-base, please be my date" He asked while she lay in the hospital bed recovering. Meiyo grabbed the vase next to her bed and threw it at him in response; he caught it and put it back on the table, far out of the girl's reach.

"Meiyo I want to go with you to the festival this year" He said as he followed her home, Meiyo responded by slamming the door in his face

"Please Meiyo" Kakashi asked through the door the next morning as he pounded on said object. Meiyo ignored him for half the day

"Meiyo you have nothing better to do, you might as well go with me to the festival" Kakashi said when she finally opened the door. Meiyo snapped

"Kami! You are so _annoying_! You are worse than Gai-san! I am not going to the damn festival! I will never go the freaking festival, and if I ever did, I highly doubt I would go with you, especially if you are going to annoy me like this! Do you really think annoying me will get me to go with you? Because in all actuality I feel like killing you rather than giving in and being your date!" Meiyo yelled at the boy.

"What are you doing if you are not going?"

"I am going to stay inside my apartment and sleep"

"Just sleep?"

"Yes, and clean my weapons, clean the house, and relax"

"Since you are not going can I join you on your cleaning adventure?" Kakashi asked earning him a pointed glare

"After everything you have done to annoy me with the festival… not in your wildest dreams" Meiyo said and once again slammed the door in his face. Kakashi winced, his plan for getting Meiyo to go with him to the festival had failed miserably, and now she was more pissed off at him than usual. The boy strolled down the streets as civilians and Genin got ready for the festival that was going to be starting the next day. Kakashi looked at the well stocked shops and his eyes rested on a bracelet. He asked the owner about it, and he confirmed what he suspected. The bracelet was very simple looking and had little vials as charms. Kakashi brought it and went shopping, buying food and some flowers before heading back to Meiyo's apartment. He knocked on the door until she answered, glaring at him in the process. He handed her the bundle of flowers and she looked down at hem in shock. He looked confused and she said softly as she smelled the flowers

"No one has ever given me flowers before" she stepped aside and allowed him into the apartment, and he happily walked in with his groceries as the girl found a jar and filled it with water and placed the bouquet in it. Meiyo turned and took note of the groceries.

"You didn't have too-"

"I know your financial position Meiyo, and I know you haven't been on a mission in weeks, and I wanted to, as an apology for annoying you and making you angry." Kakashi said and she smiled at the boy and showed him where the food went and he took inventory of what food she had left, and was appalled that it was basically instant ramen. Kakashi felt better when he filled the fridge and most of the cabinets with food since he knew the girl wouldn't go hungry now. "So can I come over and help you clean tomorrow?" Kakashi asked, Meiyo glanced at him suspiciously

"Was this all a ply to get me to say yes?" Meiyo said, annoyance slightly tinged her words when she spoke and Kakashi decided to be honest

"Yes" Meiyo tilted her head and stared at him quizzically before smirking

"I guess you could" She said and Kakashi grinned. Meiyo went to sit on the small couch Anko gave her and she tilted her head back and sighed.

"What's wrong?"

"Just hard to believe I am sixteen, and have lived nearly a decade without my twin" Meiyo said, eyes still closed. Kakashi took the time to memorize her jawbone and how it curved to become her neck and her shoulders. Breaking himself out of the spell that Meiyo seemed to constantly put him under with her body he sat down next to her and mirrored her actions.

"When did you turn sixteen? I don't remember you saying anything about it"

"I didn't, and it was last week"

"Did you tell Anko?"

"No" This confession made Kakashi feel better, mainly since Meiyo spent less time with him ever since befriending Anko.

"Why are you not telling anyone?"

"Because I don't want to celebrate my birthday"

"Why?"

"Because it reminds me that Nenriki is no longer with me" Meiyo said, sadly "If I celebrate it without him I am finally admitting to myself that he is truly gone and will never come back. And it would feel so awkward for people to say 'Happy Birthday Meiyo' instead of 'Happy Birthday Meiyo and Nenriki.'" Meiyo said taking a deep breath

"You should still celebrate"

"I am not, and will not unless by some miracle Nenriki pops out of the ground and says "Meiyo! I can't believe you fell for my death joke!" Besides, I haven't celebrated my birthday in nine years and I don't plan on starting"

"You don't even want presents?"

"No, not if it is for my birthday" Meiyo said stubbornly. Kakashi sighed; sometimes Meiyo could be so stuck in her confusing ways that it annoyed Kakashi. He played with the bracelet that was safely hidden in his Jounin vest's pocket and wondered under what circumstance he would give it to her. He mentally sighed and left the bracelet alone and gently put his hand on top of hers, sneaking a peek to see her reaction. She didn't move and he would have believed that she was ignoring him if a light blush had not appeared on her cheeks. Kakashi smirked and scoot his body closer to hers, slowly. Meiyo watched him before she yawned. Without really thinking she lifted her head and rested it on his shoulder. Kakashi grinned at the milestone he had reached and entwined his fingers with hers. His heart began to flutter at the contact and his mind was shooting off fireworks in his head when she did not react in a negative way. Meiyo's eyes slowly closed and Kakashi smiled.

'She may say that we can't be together, but her reactions say the opposite.' The boy though and rested his head on top of hers closing his eyes and breathing in her spicy chocolate scent he remembered from years ago. Kakashi was in heaven and relished in it until the girl started to lightly snore. A smile formed underneath his mask when the realizations that she trusted him enough to not only fall asleep next to him but on his shoulder had his insides warm with joy. He let go of her hand and carefully wrapped it around the girl, careful not to wake her up and sat there in a comfortable silence. He began to drift off and soon he too was asleep, arm around the girl he dreamed about and found that he loved. He just hoped she could discard the idiotic assumption that she was cursed and that she was putting him in danger by loving him.

* * *

Meiyo awoke slightly startled by light snoring in her ear. Taking a minute to gather her surroundings she recognized that she was in her living room, on her couch, and something heavy was on her head and something was around her waist. Meiyo went in slight panic when her brain started waking up to tell her the things she had picked up by the quick scan indicated human. By the deep snores, Meiyo guessed male. Meiyo relaxed when she recognized the male next to her, asleep on her, was none other than Kakashi. She gently unwrapped his arm from her waist and slowly got off of the couch, making sure that Kakashi started to tilt on his side so he could sleep on the couch. Once her head was replaced by the armrest of the couch she noticed how peaceful and adorable he looked when he slept. Meiyo couldn't help but smile. She leaned over and kissed him on his cheek gently, so not to wake him up and stood to leave when hands grabbed her waist and pulled her down on top of the boy. Meiyo looked down at the boy in complete and utter shock, and in an instant Kakashi rolled over so Meiyo was beneath him. Meiyo was still in shock as he just stared at her, obviously smirking underneath that mask of his. Meiyo's shock slowly dripped away and she pouted. This was not what she wanted, she wanted to go in her room, and fall asleep on her amazing mattress. Kakashi pressed his forehead on hers

"If you are going to kiss me, isn't it better if I am awake?" The boy said cheekily. Meiyo's pout became more defined.

"You were awake" Meiyo said, matching his cheekiness

"You thought I was asleep"

"So?"

"So," Kakashi said as he dropped his mask, and Meiyo's eyes got wide as she stared at the bottom half of his face that was normally obstructed from her view. A hand instantly went to his face, running down his cheek and his sleek jaw-line. Meiyo's mouth was slightly open in shock at his gorgeous face. Kakashi smirked at Meiyo's reaction "Do you want to make out?" Kakashi said, breaking Meiyo's trance.

"What?"

"You got angry at me for stealing your first kiss, so I am making sure to ask you first this time" Kakashi said cheekily. Meiyo just kept staring at his face, in awe as she watched his voice come out of his mouth. Enchanted by the way his lips moved when he spoke. "So?"

"Sure" Meiyo said, not sure what he said, still watching his lips move from forming words to smirking. She noticed when his face got closer to hers and her heart began to hasten its beats in preparation of what was to come.

Kakashi's lips crashed softly on Meiyo's and the warm feeling of elated joy overflowed through her senses and her hands, which was on his face mere seconds ago, traced their ways into his hair, relishing the way his soft tresses felt in between her fingers. Kakashi's tongue swiped across her bottom lip and she opened her mouth in shock, to have his tongue enter her mouth and dance alongside her own. Unsure of what to do she attempted the dance but ended up pulling out and biting lightly on his lip and pulling, dragging her front teeth on his bottom lip. She opened her eyes to see his very amused eye before he ducked back down to grab her lips against his. Now ready for what she thought was going to happen Meiyo's mouth remained partly open and his tongue entered freely. Trying the elegant tongue dance once more with the boy she got the hang of it and soon she moaned into the kiss, tugging his silver locks in the moment. Kakashi's hands wrapped themselves around her torso and to her upper back, and pulled her closer to him, a hand of Meiyo's dropped down his scalp, and trailing her fingers against his skin, went under his arm to his upper back as well to envelope him in a half-hug while still enjoying the kiss. The two broke apart, their breath ragged and uneven. Meiyo stared at the boy hovering above her and a smile graced her face and her eyes danced with the elated happy feeling she felt. The hand entwined in the boy's hair dropped to behind his neck and getting up slightly she hugged him. Kakashi happily hugged her back, pressing her body as close to his as possible. They stayed there, hugging and Meiyo didn't want his to let go. She felt warm, loved, and safe in his arms and slowly pushed him down so she was above him. She listened to his heartbeat as Kakashi took one hand and traced her spine with his fingers until he got to her long purple tresses and began combing her hair.

Meiyo felt genuinely happy and breathed in the scent of spice and pine that Kakashi had. It was a relaxing scent and Meiyo soon fell asleep on her warm, kind, new mattress. A smile plastered on her face as she did so.


	16. Valentine's Day Special

I am so glad people are enjoying this story as much as I do!This is a Valentine's Day Special, so I hope you enjoy it and are not too angry with me… You'll find out why...

Over 1700 people have read this story and it hasn't been out for a full month yet!

Thank you to my reviewer: LadyAmazon!

Read, Enjoy, and please, please Review, I like to hear what you think!

-Otakucraze

* * *

Chapter 16

* * *

Meiyo awoke warm and secure. Remembering who she fell asleep on she smiled and looked up, to see an equally happy dark grey looking back at her. She grinned before snuggling into his chest again, inhaling a deep breath of his spicy earthy scent while doing so. He responded by wrapping his arms around her torso.

"So, do you want to go to the festival?" Kakashi asked and Meiyo looked at him and glared "I'll take that as a no" he said and she put her heard back on his chest, content in listening to his heart beat. She heard his stomach rumble and she giggled before going to get up "No" Kakashi said and held her tighter "I don't want to let you go just yet" Meiyo grinned, poking his exposed nose

"You are hungry" she reminded him and he pouted, Meiyo mentally squeed and he reluctantly let go and Meiyo made her way to the kitchen to make Okonomiyaki. When she finished the beginning of the recipe she felt two strong arms wrap around her torso and a head rest on her shoulder

"What are you making?"

"Okonomiyaki"

"Yum" he said and kissed her neck. Meiyo yelped in surprise and Kakashi smirked, kissing her neck again and gently biting the area. Meiyo pushed and turned swiftly, hitting Kakashi in the face with her hair in the process of turning and she held the spatula threateningly

"Stop" Meiyo said "I can't make the Okonomiyaki correctly if you keep distracting me." Kakashi grinned and leaned forward

"I don't have to eat right now" Meiyo pouted

"I already started making it"

"It can wait"

"No it can't, besides how would you know you can't cook" Meiyo said pointedly. Kakashi pouted. "Just wait, it won't take that long to make"

"But I don't want to wait"

"Kami! You are like a little kid!" Meiyo said as she turned and continued cooking. Kakashi dejectedly sat down at her small table and just watched her. He was in a slight shock that his dreams had come true and that everything was working so smoothly. He hoped he wasn't dreaming, hell he hoped that her stubborn foolish belief that she was cursed wouldn't crop up again and ruin everything.

Kakashi enjoyed watching her while she cooked, she moved with a fluid nature, which would be expected from an assassin, honestly Kakashi couldn't help but stare. Her apartment was quaint and boring and with the vibrant iridescent colors Meiyo wore she was the most interesting object in the room.

"There" Meiyo said as she grabbed two plates and put half the Okonmiyaki on each and put them on the table with chopsticks. Kakashi could care less about the food in front of him, but his stomach sorely disagreed, rumbling loudly; which caused Meiyo to look up from her meal and look at him quizzically. She set her chopsticks down.

"What are you doing?"

"Watching you"

"Why aren't you eating?"

"Because you are far too interesting" Kakashi said causing her to blush, she continued eating and ignored the weird boy and Kakashi finally picked up his chopsticks and began to eat, his tongue enjoying the taste of the meal. He finished it just as quickly as if he always did from experience from wearing a mask and continued to watch her without the distraction of a hungry stomach. He watched her elegantly pick up a piece of food with her chopsticks and put it in her small mouth and memorized the color of her eyes, and the way her hair fell in her eyes when she leaned forward to eat the piece of food on her chopsticks. Meiyo wiped her mouth with her napkin and looked at Kakashi.

"You are weird" She said as she got up; taking her plate and Kakashi followed her example and mirrored her. Placing the plate in the sink his arm snaked around her waist. Meiyo rolled her eyes as Kakashi kissed her neck again and trailed a line of kisses to her ear and nibbled her earlobe gently. Meiyo jabbed his stomach lightly and escaped his grasp, turning quickly. "You said you would help me clean," She said

"I want to spend time with you"

"I am cleaning my apartment, and if you want to stay you can too, but you need to actually help, not just stare at me." Meiyo said and walked off to a closet and pulled out a bunch of cleaning supplies.

"Is this what you do every year?"

"Yes, when I don't land myself a mission"

"Why do this when you can have fun?"

"This has been a tradition ever since I was four" Meiyo said, "And since I don't feel like cleaning usually except for this day, when this part of town is dead silent, it seems better than having fun" She threw him a broom and pointed to her kitchen, causing him to sigh "Besides, cleaning can be fun" Meiyo said, which caused Kakashi to look at her like she was insane. Meiyo grabbed a second broom and began sweeping her room and the bathroom. Dumping the collected dirt she threw it away in the kitchen and giggled at Kakashi who looked adorable sweeping a floor. She shook her head and grabbed a bucket, filling it with hot water and soap and a couple washcloths. She set the bucket down and closed her door, changing into some clothes she didn't mind getting wet and put her hair up in a messy bun. Opening the door to show her in usual Jounin attire Kakashi glanced at her from her living room, still sweeping as she began to scrub her bathroom. He quickly finished sweeping and joined her with scrubbing the floor, starting at the kitchen. Meiyo began scrubbing her bedroom floor and made her way out to her small hallway and bumped into his back. She turned

"What are you doing?" Meiyo asked

"Scrubbing"

"You are supposed to scrub in a way where you end up outside, you dumbass"

"Really?" Kakashi said in such a way that left the girl appalled

"You did this on purpose" Meiyo said, causing him to grin. She rolled her eyes before sighing again, refusing to look at him.

"Since we are stuck here until the floor dries… How about we have a little fun?" Meiyo looked at him incredulously

"Are you serious?" Meiyo said, anger growing "You said you were going to help me clean" She pouted

"We can't finish cleaning until the floor is dry" Kakashi said grinning Meiyo stepped back from him and did hand seals. A blast of wind whirled around the two and it was gone, leaving the floor dry.

"You were saying?" Meiyo said, enjoying the utter look of shock on Kakashi's face without the stupid mask in the way.

Instantly Kakashi felt like he was being poked in the head repeatedly by an invisible force, confused he watched the world he was in disappear as he opened his eyes and groaned.

'It was a dream'

"Kakashi, if you are going to help me clean you need to get off my couch" Meiyo said still poking his forehead. "If not I need you to leave so I can finish cleaning" She said. He groaned again before forcing himself to stand up. "Thank you" the girl said as she pushed the couch out of the way so she could scrub the floor. She scrubbed a bit before she felt eyes on her, she looked up, whipping the sweat from her brow and said "What?" slight annoyance in her voice.

"What happened last night?"

"I fell asleep and I woke up with your head on top of mine and I got you to lie down on the couch and made breakfast and started to clean, why?"

"Just my dream…" He started and stopped himself. She looked at him concerned

"Are you okay" Meiyo said as she stood up and closed the distance between the two

"I…" Kakashi started. He wanted the dream to be real. He grabbed her shoulders and pulled down his mask and kissed her. She was still before she began to melt into the kiss, and feeling over-confident in the situation Kakashi dropped his hand to rest on her plump breast. Meiyo began to struggle and pulled the two of them apart and slapped his face.

"What the hell?" She yelled

"I want… you…" She glared, teeth bared and hissed, Kakashi quickly changed his mind about asking her to go out with him "…to go to the festival with me"

Meiyo kicked him out of her apartment, slamming the door open in the process and began to throw things at him before slamming the door shut in his face.

"Jerk" she said before the door fully closed. Kakashi slid down the railing and in a similar fashion Meiyo slid down the door, touching her lips. She was shocked when his lips touched hers, and although she wanted to enjoy it, she knew that she was not ready to date, not with the Shikyo clan possibly watching her and her being cursed, it was a seriously bad decision on her part, and she could not justify the guilt that would rise if he got killed because he was associated with her… she refused to admit he was already in trouble for being one of her two friends, she couldn't bear to think that she was putting her friends in danger.

* * *

The Hokage called Meiyo into his office via hawk and asked her to be in her ANBU uniform. She grinned and quickly got dressed, happy that she had a mission since she had run out of money already. Using transportation jutsu she appeared in the office with three other male ANBU members, a hawk, a cat, and… Meiyo recognized the silver hair of the one wearing the wolf mask. Staying silent she joined the three in line and waited for instruction.

"This is the new member of your team, Wolf. Treat her well, this is an assassination mission"

"Is she the Hunter-Nin?" The cat asked

"No, she will be a regular ANBU member and later be upgraded to Hunter-Nin when she is comfortable with the way ANBU works" Meiyo nodded once. Wolf looked at her and behind his mask his eye widened. The Hokage explained the mission and Meiyo thought of how she kill effectively without her trump cards, all that was really left was using her katana, which she had gotten really rusty on, she should have been practicing.

The mission went off without a hitch, the man was killed and Meiyo cut the head off and threw it to Wolf, or Kakashi, and he bagged it as Cat burned the body.

* * *

Meiyo was then swamped with ANBU missions, until the day that Valentine's Day fell on. Walking to the stores she overheard plenty of conversation from the female population of Konoha about who they were making chocolates for and Meiyo sighed. She disliked this holiday.

Anko saw her purple-haired friend and bounded over to her.

"So what are you doing for Valentine's Day?"

"Nothing" Meiyo said simply

"Why not make chocolates for Kakashi-san" She suggested causing Meiyo to scoff.

"Why? So he can cop a feel again?" Meiyo asked and Anko sighed, before dragging her friend to a secluded area Meiyo and Anko both masked their chakra as they watched a very depressed Kakashi. Meiyo felt a twinge of guilt for she had just ignored him as a whole, and treated being around him similarly to how she treated Gai. Kakashi was just staring ahead of him, chewing on what looked like a plate, she raised an eyebrow at her friend and she explained

"He has been like this for weeks, he can barely come back from a mission alive, from what I've heard" Anko whispered, and another twinge of guilt hit Meiyo as she remembered how she had treated the silver haired boy. She had gone through great lengths to make him understand through his thick scull that she hated him and put him at the same level as she had when they were younger, to the point where she booby-trapped his house with gallons of green-goop and deathly traps, if this was his reaction than she needed to fix it, she didn't want him to be so distracted that he died on a mission just because he thought she hated him.

"How do I fix it?"

"Like I said before, make him some chocolate" Anko said and Meiyo sighed before nodding. Chocolates were a sign of friendship and love, and if that was what it took to get Kakashi that she regarded him as a friend again then so be it. Going back to where Meiyo had started she grabbed the necessary ingredients for a meal and the chocolates.

Reading the instruction manual on how to make the mini morsels Meiyo started the procedure on baking them. Adding a bit of chili powder she melted the chocolate before pouring some of the hot melted chocolate in the molds placing a walnut in the middle she poured the remaining hot melted chocolate over the nut and waited for it to harden so she could place it into a little container. Meiyo began cooking the meal and got out a family sized bento box as she made rice for onigiri. Placing the finished Kinpira and Miso chicken in the bottom container, she began forming the onigiri and placed the finished product on the top container with little bottles of bull-dog sauce and Soy sauce. Using the remaining rice she pulled out the crab she bought from a vender and cut it into bite sized pieces and made sushi and placed the finished product next to the onigiri. Putting the lid on the bento she checked the chocolates and popped them out of their mold and into the little container. Tying the container with some ribbon she walked over to Kakashi's house. Taking a deep breath for the courage needed to knock on the pervert's door the door flung open with a distressed looking Kakashi. He flung his arms around her

"Forgive me" He said, distress etching his words in stone as he said them

"Fine, don't do it again" Meiyo said through gritted teeth. He led her inside and she placed the bento on the table before she presented the box of hand-made chocolates with a small bow with both hands. Kakashi smirked, unseen by the girl, and took the chocolates from her hand, feigning shock.

"Thank you" He said meekly.

"I made a bento" Meiyo said, straightening herself and jerking her thumb to the box. Kakashi early jumped his counter to grab plates and chopsticks before dashing to the couch, sitting on it expectantly, grinning under his mask as Meiyo opened the bento allowing the aroma of freshly made food to attack the boy's nose as he began to drool. Meiyo served equal amounts of sushi, onigiri, kinpira, and Miso chicken to both plates and Kakashi handed her one of them with a pair of chopsticks and the two dug in, Kakashi eating as if he hadn't in months and mildly shocking the girl as she ate slowly and politely as she gawked at his maskless face as he scarfed down the food. After finishing his food in record time he used his sleeve as a napkin before noticing that Meiyo had seen the bottom half of his face. Noticing he had caught her by the mischievous smirk she dropped her gaze to her barely touched plate of food as she blushed brightly.

"No need to be embarrassed" Kakashi said as he got closer, Meiyo clearly pretending to ignore the boy as she pursed her lips at the lost space in between the two of them "You can look at me" Meiyo closed her eyes and looked away, causing the boy to chuckle. Opening her eyes she glared through narrowed eyes at the boy as he touched her hand "You can trust me" He said grinning

"Why would I?" Meiyo said as she jerked her hand away from his as he shoved food in her mouth and ignored him more. Kakashi sighed and pulled up his mask.

"I told you I was sorry"

"You sure aren't acting like it" Meiyo said, stabbing her food with her chopsticks as she said it before forcing it into her mouth

"I didn't mean to"

"What did you intend to do, Hatake" Meiyo said and watched happily as he winced at the use of his last name "Grab my ass?" Kakashi looked down

"How can I make it up to you?"

"I don't know"

"Well surely you would"

"Spar with me" she said after a long pause. Kakashi grinned

"When"

"Tomorrow"

"Great" Kakashi said with a sigh of relief

The two were silent as Meiyo finished her food, and Kakashi happily washed the bento box and the dishes used for Meiyo and handed them back to her as he unwrapped his box of chocolates.

"Honestly I thought you were going to make me do something much worse than sparring with you" He admitted

"Now why would I do that?"

Meiyo stood and watched him smile at the little chocolates and watched as he put one of the tiny morsels in his mouth, and watched with an evil satisfaction as he began to sweat and wave his hands to get air into his mouth, and inadvertently bit down on the chocolate to hear a crunch from the nut as his eyes widened in shock. Meiyo grinned evilly

"Why would I make you do something worse when this is my payback for you acting like a pervert around me" Meiyo said evilly as Kakashi's face was getting swollen and blue as he clutched his throat. Meiyo did the handseals necessary for her to transport him to the hospital and the nurses instantly began their work to help the boy breathe and Meiyo sat in the waiting room until the nurses would allow her into his room. She leaned on the wall cockily and asked him "What did you learn?"

"Not to be a pervert around you and touch your boobs" He said quietly

"Good, now I can say that I forgive you completely. See you at the training grounds tomorrow" She said as Anko burst through the door

"What happened?" Anko said gasping for air from her run

"Kakashi learned to not be a pervert" Meiyo said as she waved goodbye and left

"What?"

"She put a walnut in the chocolate" Kakashi said "The very spicy chocolate, seriously Anko, you were supposed to get her to make chocolates for me, not try to use them to kill me"

"I didn't know that she was going to do that… but did it work, can we all be friends again?" Anko asked

"Yeah, she forgave me" Kakashi said hoarsely

"Good, because it was getting really annoying to see you in private, rather than openly being friends like we had been before you were an idiot and had a moment of weakness." Anko said

"I told you why…"

"Yeah, you wanted the dream to be real, blah blah blah, but really Kakashi, it was a _dream, _Meiyo doesn't really act like that, and she probably never will" Anko said "You may just have to accept that you are in an unrequited love. Besides, you didn't even fondle Meiyo in your dream, what made you think that it was a good idea to do it in _real life?"_

"I don't know; the hope that it would become real?"

"Idiot"


	17. Meiyo's Surprise

I am so glad people are enjoying this story as much as I do! This is a fun installment to the story, so I hope you enjoy it and are not too disappointed with me… and hopefully this chapter will make up for it!

Over 1900 people have read this story and it hasn't been out for a full month yet! It blows my mind! 200 people in ONE day!

Thank you to my reviewer: Ella Unlimited and ReadinFromPhone!

Read, Enjoy, and please, please Review, I like to hear what you think!

-Otakucraze

* * *

Chapter 17

* * *

10 months later

* * *

Meiyo had become very good at using her katana again, her jutsu knowledge was increasingly growing, thanks to Kakashi, who had not done anything perverted to her since the feel up incident. Anko, Kakashi and Meiyo would often eat lunch together switching on and off from Korean barbeque, ramen, and dango. The three were nearly inseparable.

"My lovely youthful maiden!" Meiyo sunk in her chair at Gai's voice

"Kill me" she said to the two sitting next to her

"Ha, you wish" Anko said and Kakashi shook his head

"My lovely maiden, you would look lovely in a kimono and dancing with me during the festival" Meiyo groaned

"Is it that time already?" Meiyo moaned to her arms. Anko laughed, eating her dango happily, watching the conversation between the Violet Viper and the green spandex boy.

"Yes my dear maiden and I would like it if you would come with me"

"No" Meiyo said flatly"

"Why"

"I don't want to, I have a mission, and I have better things to do than be in a kimono going to a stupid festival" Meiyo said before adding "Choose one" Meiyo said

"You are not being very youthful, my beautiful maiden" Gai said scoldingly. "The festival is a celebration of the youth of the flowers sprouting up and the life they have in front of them, as we do" He said

"Is he gay?" Meiyo muttered, Anko almost spit up the dango she was eating from the comment and Kakashi laughed silently next to her. Meiyo still refused to look at him, as she said "I am not going to the damn festival, not now, not ever"

"I will not lose you to Kakashi-san" Gai said, and Meiyo whipped her head around faster than lightning

"What was that?" Meiyo said, malice twinkling in her eyes. She looked to Kakashi that was pretending like he didn't hear anything "It all makes sense now, you idiots made a challenge to see who can take me to that damn festival!" Gai backed off. "Whose idea was it" Kakashi pointed to Gai obediently. Meiyo glowered a the boy as he put up his hands

"Now Meiyo, we only wanted to make sure you had some fun" Gai said defensively as he backed away from the girl

"Have fun? I hate the damn festival. I hate it even more with you two idiots annoying me every year. I almost killed Kakashi-san last year for his annoyance" Meiyo said, pointing to the masked teenager. Anko and Kakashi were watching the oncoming fight with eager evil eyes as they turned in their respected chairs to do so. "You" she said pointing to the spandex wearing teenager "Are dead" she said and pounced. Gai took that as the only warning he needed as he ran off, Meiyo at his heels brandishing her fists and gritting her teeth as they ran down the streets of Konoha

* * *

Three hours later

* * *

Meiyo resorted to jutsu to trip the boy to beat him up effectively until she exhausted herself, before transporting him into the hospital and dumped him on the floor of the emergency room and stomped off as the nurses rushed to the extremely bloody bruised boy.

Catching up with her two friends, exhaustion showing on her face, she slugged Kakashi on his shoulder.

"Ask me to the festival again and you will meet the same fate Gai did"

"Where is he?" Kakashi asked

"Hospital" Meiyo said simply and Anko laughed

"He had that coming" She said maliciously, Meiyo nodded in agreement. Meiyo yawned

"I should probably go home" She said and left her two friends and walked slowly to her apartment, thoroughly pooped from chasing and beating the annoying boy to a pulp. Meiyo collapsed on her bed and slept.

* * *

  
"Okay, you need to help me get her to go to the festival with me" Kakashi said to the dango eating purple haired girl

"What?"

"Please" Kakashi pleaded

"Dude, she needs more time for the wounds your perverted self created before she would even think of going with you without thinking the stupid challenge was still on." Anko said knowingly as she bit another piece of dango off of the stick she was holding, smiling happily at the taste that exploded on her taste buds.

"Augh" Kakashi said in defeat.

"You really like Meiyo, don't you" Anko said as Kakashi gave her a look like she was an idiot "I mean like, no one else but her?"

"Duh" Kakashi said, stuffing his hands into his pockets.

"Ouch" Anko said "But seriously give it a couple of years and then we can attempt operation Festival" Anko said seriously.

"The next couple of years are going to suck" Kakashi said before heading some, sulking. Anko shook her head at the boy.

"He is hopeless" she muttered to herself before heading home herself.

* * *

One Week Later

* * *

It was Meiyo's birthday and was happy she was going to be able to relax and stay home without anyone knowing that she was turning sixteen. Relaxing in the typical Jounin uniform she used her couch as a makeshift bed and began reading her book. Anko and Kakashi had made it a point to figure out when her birthday was and she successfully dodged the answer for another year. She had begun to resort to lying about the day to just say "It's not my birthday" when the duo would surprise her with a cake and presents. It was becoming quite amusing and she enjoyed it frequently when the look of absolute joy turned into scowls on their faces.

Turning the page of her book she was interrupted by a knock on her door, and marking her page she got up and opened the door and was shocked to see Anko and Kakashi with a cake and presents

"Happy Birthday" The said in unison and Meiyo became pale.

"How- How did you find out?" Meiyo said, 'I'm dreaming right? This is just a very bad nightmare and I should be waking up any moment' Meiyo thought

Anko slung her arm over her shoulders as she let herself inside and spun her around so she was facing the inside of her apartment. "After the last mess-up Kakashi and I looked at your shinobi records to find your actual date of birth" Anko said slyly and Kakashi put the cake on her table and the presents on her counter before she closed the door. "I just don't understand why you don't want to celebrate. I mean your sixteen today!" Anko said as she let go of Meiyo's shoulders and spun herself around "Birthdays are awesome and what did you plan on doing? Reading," Anko said while tsking at the girl and grabbed her book "Why would you read 1001 Techniques of Death? That's so dark… You should be celebrating" Meiyo grabbed the book out of Anko's hand and put it back in her bookshelf

"Can you both go?"

"Nope" Kakashi said, sitting in a chair as he watched the birthday girl

"Absolutely not" Anko said. "We have big plans, first we eat cake and you open presents, then we are going to treat you to dinner and then go dancing. Kakashi even has someone who can get us some sake!" Anko said excitedly. Meiyo just stared at the girl who was more exited at Meiyo turning a year older than she was. "What is your problem?" Anko asked poking her in the forehead and Meiyo growled

"I don't want to do anything today, I want to relax, by myself, and pretend it is just another day" Anko's jaw dropped

"Blasphemous" Anko said "We are going to celebrate whether you want to or not

"Ha, fat chance." Meiyo said as she crossed her arms and turned her head away from the two; which was a bad idea on her part since Kakashi and Anko looked at each other and nodded before jumping the Violet Viper and tying her up to one of her own chairs. "Let. Me. Go. You IDIOTS" Meiyo said as she rocked her chair back and forth in fury. Kakashi steadied the chair before it fell, which was Meiyo's intention as Anko used a fork to get a bite-sized amount of cake and put it in front of Meiyo's mouth

"Open up" Anko said, smiling evilly

"Never" Meiyo muttered. Anko glared before pinching the hinge of her jaw to force her mouth open and shoved the fork inside.

"Chew" Anko ordered but Meiyo spit it out aiming directly for Anko's face. "Bitch" Anko said before shoving the entire cake in Meiyo's face. Kakashi jumped out of the way in time to not get bits of frosting and cake on his outfit. The force Anko used to push the cake into Meiyo's face was enough to topple the chair over without the help of Kakashi to keep it still. Meiyo's feet kicked around as she mumbled evil words barely heard through the thick icing and sponge-like cake. Worried about her suffocating Kakashi removed as much cake as he could from the girl's face and she glowered at him.

"Untie me, now." She ordered the boy. He put the chair right side up and Anko pouted. Kakashi sighed

"Only to unwrap your presents" Kakashi said as he untied one of her hands

"What about my other one?" Meiyo asked

"I don't feel like dying today" The boy said and brought her a present to open "Besides, you can open presents with one hand" he said and she sighed before complying with his wish of unwrapping the present. Inside were senbon needles and kunai. Confused she looked up at the boy who simply said "There is a small fissure in the middle of the kunai and senbon so you can have poisons inserted" He smiled, and Meiyo caught his drift

'Or blood' she thought and said a very quiet thank you as he moved his present and Anko reluctantly gave her the present she had bought for the girl. Meiyo opened it and found a bracelet in the form of a purple snake. Meiyo looked up at the girl and smiled slightly, cake and frosting fell from her face at the action. "Thanks" she said quietly. Anko kicked an invisible rock

"Don't thank me, Kakashi-san found it, I purchased it" Meiyo looked over to a seemingly distracted Kakashi and gave him a smile and a nod.

"Can you untie me now" Meiyo said, irritated once more at the situation she was in. Anko sighed

"Fine, but you have to take a shower"

"Do you think I want to have cake and frosting in my hair?" Meiyo said incredulously. Anko growled and untied the girl. Like a flash of lightning Meiyo grabbed a handful of the cake and rubbing it viciously in her hair. Anko screamed before slapping the girl, causing Meiyo to slap back. Anko and Meiyo glowered and growled at each other before Kakashi pushed Meiyo towards her bathroom. Meiyo locked the door before realizing she had nothing to change into "Wait, I need a change of clothes" Meiyo said as she opened the door to find a smirking Anko holding out a shopping bag

"You get this or nothing" She said evilly and Meiyo grabbed the bag with a scowl before slamming the door and locking it once more. "Kakashi is staying here while I go shower and change" Anko yelled as Meiyo began to undress and shower. Once dry she opened the bag and found a black dress, raising her eyebrows at the garment she looked to find a very sexy looking set of lingerie bra and underwear. Scoffing at the garments, but knowing she couldn't run to her bedroom with Kakashi still in the apartment she reluctantly put them on and put the dress on. The last thing in the bag was a pair of pantyhose and heels. Meiyo looked ticked off and felt like punching someone. Putting them on as slowly and reluctantly as possible she untied the towel on her head to dry her hair completely. After attacking her violet locks with a hairdryer she brushed it and applied her signature make-up and unlocked the door to have Anko and Kakashi waiting on the other side of the door. Anko crossed her arms and inspected the outfit. Meiyo had trouble balancing with the three-inch heel on and wished she could just wear her ninja sandals, or the geta, anything would be better than these instruments of torture. Meiyo looked at Anko displeasure in her eyes as Anko whistled. "You look sexy" she said and winked.

"I am not wearing this" Meiyo said

"You can go naked"

"I am not going anywhere, and I would rather go naked than in these things" she said as she pointed to the heels and took a step forward to strangle the other girl for even thinking that she would wear this outdoors, completely unaware at the look of shock on Kakashi's face as he drank in her form in the short tight-fitting black dress and the heel she was in. Kakashi's mind began undressing the girl in front of her at her words and began to drool before he slapped himself mentally. He reminded himself that to act perverted meant that she would be angry enough to attempt to kill him again. The step she took was not as steady as Meiyo thought it was going to be in the stilettos and she lost her balance and Kakashi quickly caught her and helped her find her balance. Anko grinned evilly

"Anko, she can't even walk a step in these things" Kakashi said causing Anko's grin to falter. He looked down at the girl whom he was still touching and reluctantly pulled his hands away. Meiyo wobbled without the extra hands to steady her and Kakashi asked the birthday girl "Of you can change into whatever you wanted would you come out with Anko and me?" Meiyo thought about it before sighing and asked

"I doubt you would leave me alone if I said no, and knowing Anko she would probably drag me out anyway" Meiyo said and Anko grinned and nodded confirming Meiyo's slight doubt over her friend "Fine" Meiyo said dejectedly and took off the heels as she headed to her room. Once the door was closed and locked Anko elbowed the boy into the stomach

"Told you it would work" Anko whispered and Kakashi grinned and nodded. Operation Happy Birthday Meiyo was going to be a success, and if Kakashi was lucky, he was going to be able to dance with the Violet haired beauty.

Kakashi was not that lucky.

Meiyo refused to dance, she just watched peacefully from the sidelines

"You sure you don't want to dance"

"You're lucky I am even out of my apartment" Meiyo said.

At the end of the night, when Anko was tired of attempting to get Meiyo to do anything that night, Meiyo exacted her revenge by dragging the two back to her apartment, and like the torturer she was, forced the two to clean her apartment to perfection. When Anko and Kakashi left Meiyo's clean apartment Anko muttered

"Next time we carry out a plan we need to take the precaution that she will induce payback. Kakashi nodded, stuffing his hands into his pockets and the two nodded to each other before separating for the night to go to their places of residence.


	18. Kakashi's Successful Operation

I am so glad people are enjoying this story as much as I do! This is a fun and sad installment to the story, so I hope you enjoy it and are not too disappointed with me…

Over 2000 people have read this story and it hasn't been out for a full month yet!

Thank you to my reviewer: Ella Unlimited!

Read, Enjoy, and please, please Review, I like to hear what you think!

-Otakucraze

* * *

Chapter 18

* * *

Three Years Later

* * *

Meiyo growled as the doorbell rang, signaling that her two friends had once again remembered her birthday. She reluctantly opened the door and let the two in.

Kakashi and Anko were ready to perform Operation: Festival. Kakashi had kept his word and had played the part of friend to Meiyo for the past three years without any major incidents occurring. Thus finally gaining her trust.

Meiyo had begun to relax a bit since she thought that the Shikyo clan couldn't possibly be still watching the old house or her for that matter.

For the girl's birthday she had gotten similar presents as she had for the past four years, Kakashi had once again given her specialty weaponry for her poisons and blood, and Anko a piece of jewelry. Even with the familiarity of the gifts Meiyo's nineteenth birthday was probably the most relaxing for Meiyo, since her two friends had given up trying to force her somewhere and decided to do what she wanted to do, which was stay in her apartment and relax reading a book. Kakashi mimicked Meiyo's actions happily, pulling out another small lightweight book about jutsu. Anko scoffed and took to polishing her sword.

After hours of boredom for Anko she faked a yawn and bid the two goodnight and left. Anko winked at Kakashi and gave him a thumb up before exiting the apartment. Kakashi was to take this time alone with Meiyo to begin Operation: Festival. Kakashi took a deep breath and asked the dreaded question that had given Meiyo so much grief and irritation in the past.

"Hey Meiyo?" Kakashi asked, striking up a conversation and praying that the plan would work.

"Yeah" Meiyo replied as she turned the page of her book.

"Would you like to attend the festival with me, as friends?" Kakashi asked and Meiyo looked at him with a sour look on her face, annoyed that the annoying question was back, even though Kakashi had not asked her for years, and for that she reluctantly decided to give him a chance. Meiyo thought before she sighed

"I'll think about it" she said and went back to reading, and Kakashi intelligently decided not to push it

* * *

The Next Day

* * *

"Are there any missions open during the festival this year?" Meiyo asked the Hokage

"Not for you, Meiyo," The Hokage said frustrated that every year she asked the same thing

"Why?" Meiyo asked, slightly peeved at the older man

"Because I am tired of you asking every year for the same thing. You need to go have fun"

"I have fun" Meiyo said defensively

"You need to represent Konoha by going to the festival"

"I don't want to go" Meiyo said stubbornly

"I am ordering you to go, now leave" the Hokage said, pointing to his door and Meiyo scoffed at the man before leaving, stomping a bit as she did so.

After a few minutes Anko entered the Hokage's office through the window

"Did it work?" Anko asked anxiously

"I had to order her to go but yes, she will be attending the festival this year." The Hokage said to Anko, who in turn grinned

"Perfect" Anko said, a big evil grin gracing the woman's face.

* * *

An Hour Later

* * *

"Kakashi!" Meiyo yelled and Kakashi stopped in his tracks and turned to face the direction in which his friend's voice came from

"Yo" Kakashi said as he stuck up a hand as a greeting to the girl

"I would like to go to the festival with you" Meiyo said and Kakashi instantly grinned

"Great" Kakashi said with his eye curved

"I need to go find a Kimono" Meiyo said and smiled at the man and left to go to the kimono shops.

Noticing how expensive the garments were Meiyo realized she couldn't really afford to get one. Sighing she massaged her temples as she thought.

"Ocaa-san had plenty of kimonos" Meiyo muttered to herself and went to her old place of residence. She opened the door and noticed how dusty it was, coughing slightly when she kicked up dust and dirt that had formed a layer on the floor.

Meiyo headed upstairs and went into her parent's old room, which had not been opened since she was four. The layer of dust was more like carpet in this room and Meiyo put her arm to her nose not to breathe in the heavy dust filled air that the room she was in held. Meiyo trudged her way to the closet and came across a rice paper package that she knew her mother kept her kimonos in. Since she couldn't stand being in the room for too much longer Meiyo grabbed a random kimono and the Obi that was nearest the package and headed out of the house, taking deep breaths of the fresh air as she did so.

Once in her apartment Meiyo tore open the rice paper packaging and stared in awe at the beautiful kimono in front of her. It was a mixture of deep purple tones that faded into black with silver and purple sakura flowers scattered throughout. The Obi was mainly silver with a lining of black, and the outfit matched perfectly with the kanzashi that her grandfather had given her the last time she went to the festival.

Now equipped with her mother's kimono and obi Meiyo was actually excited about the festival that was coming up. Meiyo folded the obi and kimono and placed it gently in her closet. The festival was to be held next week and Meiyo hoped that it would be better than last time.

* * *

One Week Later

* * *

Meiyo spent half the day getting ready for the festival and done the finishing touches of her makeup when her doorbell rang. She opened the door and smiled up at Kakashi. Kakashi was shocked at just how beautiful Meiyo looked in the kimono she was in, it seemed to match her personality more than her regular clothes did, which supported her nick name. Meiyo locked her door and hooked her arm in Kakashi's as they walked slowly to where the festival was being held. Kakashi stopped when they were about a block away

"Meiyo"

"Yeah"

"I got this for you a long time ago and I was waiting for the perfect time to give it to you, and I, well I thought that you would like it" Kakashi said awkwardly as he handed Meiyo the gift he purchased years ago. Meiyo opened the box to see the charm bracelet. Meiyo gawked at it. "It can hold some of your poisons" Kakashi explained.

"That is so sweet of you Kakashi-san, thank you" Meiyo said as she gave him a quick hug before she put the bracelet on. Meiyo once again linked her arm in his and she rested on his shoulder a bit more and entwined her fingers in his, which ended when they finally got to the festival. The short amount of pure bliss was enough to make Kakashi feel warm inside and happy. Meiyo walked close next to Kakashi when the two hit the gaming section of the festival.

"Ma'am would you like to take a shot at knocking the cans over?" The salesman asked and Meiyo looked at the prizes, not caring for any of them but paid for a ball anyway. She knocked the cans over in one shot and the salesperson allowed her to choose her prize. Once again not seeing anything she would like her eyes drifted to the table the man had been sitting in previously, where a small yellow book lay.

"I want the book" Meiyo said and the man paled

"I don't think you would like it, why don't you choose the stuffed unicorn"

"You said choose a prize and I did, I want the book over there" Meiyo said stubbornly, glaring at the man

"I really don't think you would like it"

"Do you know who I am? I am the Deadly Violet Viper, now give me the damn book or I will maim you with the stupid unicorn" Meiyo said threateningly and the pan finally broke down and gave Meiyo the little yellow book "Thank you" Meiyo said sweetly and Meiyo gave the book to Kakashi "Here, for the bracelet" Meiyo explained at his confused look. Kakashi reluctantly accepted the book and read the cover

"Icha Icha Paradise? I have never heard of this book" Kakashi commented

"Well it looks like it can fit in your Jounin vest and it is pretty light, and it beats pretending to read your jutsu books" Meiyo pointed out and Kakashi nodded, pocketing the yellow book as he fell in step once more with Meiyo.

"How do you know that I was pretending to read?"

"Other than your recent confession" Meiyo pointed out while grinning as Kakashi looked like he was calling himself an idiot mentally. "You have had that exact book and have continuously read that book since you were 12" Meiyo said, her grin widening.

"Okay so I need a new book" Kakashi admitted

"No you don't I just gave you one" Meiyo said, playfully punching his shoulder. He chuckled as the two continued through the festival, Meiyo picking out food to eat and Kakashi paying for it. The two were admittedly having a very fun time with each other when Meiyo suggested that they should go to her place, because the loud noises that the festival was giving off were beginning to give her a headache.

It was then Meiyo noticed a body on the ground. Kakashi and Meiyo ran to the body and Meiyo noticed a streak of blood on the man's cheek.

"Shikyo" Meiyo said quietly, her face growing pale. "Kakashi-san, go tell the Hokage" Meiyo said quickly as she recognized that this path led to her old residence, Meiyo took a deep breath to calm herself and her fleeting mind as she rushed to her apartment and changed into her normal shinobi outfit. Grabbing her waist-cincher and katana she rushed back to the man laying in the street to find Kakashi and the Hokage there, the two whispering to each other in hushed hurried whispers. Meiyo was nearly there when a sword went through her middle, she screamed in pain and shock, causing the two men to look up in shock. Meiyo's eyes were open wide before the Shikyo blood began to take effect and she fell unconscious, watching Kakashi run up towards her as she drifted off to the darkness.

A slash of water woke Meiyo up from her induced slumber and she found herself tied to a tree.

"You lied you little whore" A man, obviously Shikyo from his features said as he gripped her chin tightly in his hand. "You are related to the Shikyo, you entered Trinian's house, and took his daughters kimono" Meiyo paled as the thought never occurred to her that someone could be watching the old house. She slammed her head against a mental wall at her stupidity. A kunai began to slowly cut through her stomach and Meiyo screamed in pain, now glad she had taken the time to learn how to interrogate, and what it feels like to be interrogated. "Where are the swords?" Tears formed in her eyes from the searing pain

"I don't know" Meiyo said, finding it hard to form the words. Another man slapped her hard across the face.

"You lie" he said as the kunai stabbed her in the stomach. "Where are the swords?"

"I don't know" Meiyo repeated and the man stabbed in pain once more the kunai in her shoulder, causing Meiyo to scream

* * *

Two Hours Later

* * *

"Do you want to die, you little brat?"

"You can't kill me, I am the only one left who knows where the swords are" Meiyo said, laughing coldly

"So you admit you know where the swords are"

"Yes" Meiyo forced out as the kunai drove into her thigh, she bit her tongue as sweat dripped down her bloody face "But I will never tell you"

Showing a moment of weakness the Shikyo with the kunai growled in anger and cut his wrist open and stabbed Meiyo once more in the stomach, causing the girl to once again scream in pain as she gratefully accepted the darkness.

* * *

Meiyo did not know how long she was held in the tiny room on the Shikyo's island. She lost count how many times she had woken up from slumber.

She did, however, remember how many times she attempted to escape, once she noticed the ropes were not bound tightly enough and on the rare occasion the Shikyo did not wake her up she escaped, but was captured. In return for that escape attempt the interrogator sliced open the muscle directly in the back of the knee, making it extremely painful to sit regularly. Another time she used her hidden senbon needle to slowly slice through the ropes and was once again captured, that last escape attempt got her whipped.


	19. Torture

I am so glad people are enjoying this story as much as I do! I know a lot of you are not that happy with the torture, but I wanted to mention that humans normally don't change their view unless something bad happens in their life, so I had to have something bad enough to justify Meiyo's complete change of thought process. Also, as a quick note, I have been planning and waiting for this chapter to come about _**forever**_, and now it is finally here and I hope you get just as excited as I am! Hahahahaha! This story is so much fun to write!

OMGosh guys I am so sorry, I didn't realize I uploaded Chapter 18 twice… my bad, here is the real Chapter 19, it may make everything make more sense… Again, I am so sorry.

Thank you 8hanabi8for bringing this to my attention

Read, Enjoy, and please, please Review, I like to hear what you think, it gives me the motivation to move onto the next chapter!

-Otakucraze

* * *

Chapter 19

* * *

Meiyo groggily awoke from the Shikyo blood wearing off and looked around the currently dark room. The days had blended together and she knew she had been tortured for a very long time, she just didn't know exactly how long. With the quietness in the room Meiyo did the only thing she could do, she began to think. The major thing Meiyo regretted was the whole situation with Kakashi. She couldn't believe she blew him off on the basis of being cursed, if she knew this was going to be the byproduct of cautiousness she would have gladly gone with the uncertainty of a relationship. She breathed deeply, not at all enjoying the feeling of some of the old wounds giving her pain as she did so. Meiyo sighed.

She needed to get out of here. With Meiyo's new resolve to get out, and knowing this was her last chance to, she came up with a plan.

Kakashi had been a wreck when Meiyo had been kidnapped and had almost gone AWOL to find her until the Hokage reminded him that to go blindly looking for the Shikyo clan when they only need a scratch to kill him was ludicrous. Kakashi felt alone and defeated, and without Meiyo as their friend Anko and Kakashi eventually drifted away from each other. Kakashi had read and reread the book he had given her the night of her kidnapping, just so he could think about her, and pretend she was Junko, the main female character in the book. His fantasies were not enough to keep his wounded heart from mending, and he grew quieter than he usually was.

Meiyo didn't have time to successfully start her newest escape plan when the Shikyo interrogators entered the room, turning on the lights that blared into Meiyo's retinas. Meiyo squinted as her four main interrogators encircled her. Meiyo took a deep breath and began disconnecting herself from her body, and went into a light meditation.

Bastard number one hit her, "Where are the damn swords" Meiyo laughed

"Screw you" she said, and usually the words would include with her getting stabbed, but it seemed the bastards were in a much angrier mood than usual.

"You think it's funny being interrogated and tortured?" Meiyo grinned at him

"You are an idiot" Meiyo said bitterly to Bastard number one. Bastard number one snapped and grabbed her face, hooking the corner of her mouth with the kunai and sliced it open. Meiyo screamed; she had not been expecting this. Still angry he did the same with the other side as the other bastards laughed. Meiyo's tears fell into the wound and stung and she closed her eyes and decided she needed to get out of here now. She activated her bracelet and a bunshin appeared behind one of the bastards and silently hid behind one of the four columns in the room. The bunshin, now safely hidden and able to touch the wounds freshly given to her face m=winced in pain as she did a few handseals for the substitution jutsu and Meiyo, the real Meiyo switched places with her bunshin. Meiyo slid painfully down the column and silently cried as she heard the screams of her bunshin. Meiyo could only wonder how horrible she looked; since the only showers that were included were the buckets of water they occasionally dumped on her. Meiyo waited silently and patiently for her bunshin's latest form of interrogation and torture to finish, and watched as the men laughed and left. Meiyo sighed in relief and waited for ten more minutes before looking around the dark room noticing a kunai she grabbed it and cut her bunshin's ties before heading towards the door. Pressing her ear against the wood she listened hard for nonexistent footsteps and slowly opened the door, slipping outside. Deciding to go left rather than left from her last escape attempt Meiyo tip toed down the hallway, controlling her breathing and trying not to let her emotions get ahead of her. Hearing footsteps she ducked into the nearest room, slowly closing the door. She turned and listened to the footsteps leave before relaxing enough to look around the room. One of the Shikyo's fighter uniforms were hung up and Meiyo looked down at her tattered clothing. She stripped and changed before curiosity led her to the next room. Inside the adjoining room it looked like a lounge and Meiyo found some weaponry, which reminded her that her katana that her grandfather made her was taken away from her. She needed to get it back. She grabbed the pouches of kunai and shaken and hooked it onto the holster she found lying next to it before attaching it to her waist, a strand of her hair fell in her face and Meiyo was reminded that she looked completely different than everyone on this island. Doing a simple henge Meiyo made her look like a typical Shikyo male, and walked out of the room, going left once more and smacked herself mentally for not thinking about that before, especially during the last escape attempts. Walking past a group of other Shikyo fighters, Meiyo stiffed up a bit, especially when one of them spoke to her.

"You, who are you?" Meiyo thought of a name quickly

"Shikyo Nenriki sir" Meiyo said as deeply as she could

"Nenriki, what rank are you?"

"I just got in sir"

"Ah, newbie. Go into the next door and get my paperwork and bring it to my office" Meiyo nodded once

"Yes sir, right away sir" She said as she bowed, making sure she didn't show emotion as she walked in the same direction once more. Going pas the next door two older men walked out, heading right and completely ignoring Meiyo, acting as she was not worthy to even look at. Curious Meiyo walked into the room and found what she was looking for, her sword; putting it on her person she also found her waist-cincher and a pack. Stuffing the cincher into the pack she noticed that the room that she was in led to another room, curious she walked through quietly to see find herself in a room where two glass cases, one was empty, inside held niches suggesting two swords should lie there. A small plaque had the Shikyoan scribbling on it that Meiyo could still not read and she looked at the other glass case and grinned. Inside held a scroll, a tiny scroll, but it was a scroll in a glass case, signifying it was important. Taking after her grandfather she decided that a bit of severance fee was in order and broke the glass, grabbed the scroll and rushed to the door all while a very loud alarm was going off. Hearing the tell tale footsteps she performed a simple genjutsu to make her invisible and waited by the door. As she expected it was opened quickly as ten men rushed in, and Meiyo crept out undetected. She ran left some more before she noticed more men were coming her way and decided that going over the handrail would be a safer route. She landed on the dirt and waited for them to pass as she climbed down the steep slope down to the markets below, careful not to kick up dust. She jumped and felt tired. She was in pain, hungry and tired from the torture, and she needed to get off of this island. She walked slowly on the sides of the roads before ducking into the nearest store, a clothing store. She opened her pack and stuffed in a mask unnoticed as she grabbed another and put it on. She looked around and noticed some dresses that she thought were pretty

'Since I already stole something might as well steal more, stick it to the clan; Meiyo thought and grabbed her size and stuffed it into her pack, along with other items she liked 'How come the Shikyo clan's clothes look so much nicer than the clothes in Konoha?' Meiyo thought as she exited the store and watched as more men wearing the fighter uniform ran by in a panicked hurry. Meiyo smirked and smelled the wonderful scent of pork buns. She grabbed five and stuffed them into her pack and went towards the pier in time to eavesdrop

"Are you sure that he left twenty minutes ago?"

"Yes sir, went towards the shore"

"Grab that boat, we are going to shore, he has the scroll" Meiyo smirked at her luck and watched it fade away when the climbed into the small boat. Meiyo dipped herself in the water as best she could without forming ripples and used a jutsu Kakashi had taught her. Before ducking her head underwater she did the handseals necessary to create the jutsu and dipped her head in as the jutsu formed a bubble of air around her head, she swam to the undercarriage of the boat and used chakra to make herself stick to it as the men started the engine. Meiyo positioned herself near the bow of the boat until the bubble that surrounded her head touched the air and engulfed the rest of her body, she grabbed her pack and began stuffing the soggy pork buns in her mouth painfully and dropped the genjutsu and henge, feeling the little energy she had left come back to her. After she finished eating her meal she waited for the boat to hit the shore.

It did so thirty minutes later and Meiyo waited patiently for the boat's engine to stop, and for the men to get off and tie the boat down. Meiyo went closer to the pier and unstuck herself from the boat, eavesdropping on the three men above her's conversation.

"Do not let anyone on this boat, keep a look out for a Shikyo boat, or anyone who looks like a Shikyo, kill them, understood?" the men nodded and the man walked away, leaving the two to guard the pier and the boat. Meiyo grabbed two kunai from her pouch and swam so she was directly behind the two remaining men on the pier and the boat; she let herself float to the surface and breathed in slowly and quietly before lifting her arms out of the water just as slowly, and cut herself before stabbing the two men in the ankle quickly. They winced at the light wound before falling over. Meiyo quickly lifted herself out of the water and ran down the pier before running out of breath.

Meiyo's malnutrition and injuries had made it impossible to run, so she had to walk back to Konoha, meaning she was more likely to get captured, again. She did another genjutsu and walked toward the village and stole another change of clothes and changed in a nearby alley, willing her limited chakra to spread and to search for other Shikyo chakra signatures around her. She wrung out the uniform and stuffed it into her pack before dropping the genjutsu and putting up a henge of what she used to look like.

Her bunshin was still on the island, they had no idea that she had escaped, there were looking for someone who had the scroll, a Shikyo that had the scroll, meaning they were looking for someone with black hair and silver eyes, and most likely male since the scroll was in the fighter's complex. Meiyo walked slowly, unnoticed through the streets of the harbor village and made it to the gates without getting stopped she sighed happily at her good fortune and began hobbling toward Konoha.

* * *

She made it there the next morning and was stopped at the gate

"Paperwork" the Chuunin said, he sounded as if he just woke up, judging from the look of him and the hour she finally stumbled in, he probably had.

"I lost it" Meiyo said truthfully, and it had gotten lost, somewhere between Konoha and the Shikyo Island.

"You can't enter without your paperwork" He said, bored already with his job.

"Can't I just talk to the Hokage?" Meiyo said as she clutched her bleeding stomach, the wound reopened when she tripped over a twig when she yawned, she suspected that the wound, along with many others, were infected.

"You can't enter without paperwork" he repeated, and Meiyo sighed.

"I need a medic" she said

"Sure, you just said you wanted to see the Hokage"

"I am a Jounin"

"Yeah, you look like one" he drawled. Meiyo bit back her anger, she couldn't yell, it opened the wounds on her face, and she really needed those stitched and healed.

"Please let me in"

"I can't without paperwork"

"Come on" Meiyo said as she began coughing as a slight breeze hit her, she tasted blood in her mouth, she rolled her eyes at the irony, she finally gets back home from being tortured for who knows how long and she dies at the front gates from phenomena .

"I am sick and in pain and need a doctor"

"I can't let you in without paperwork" Meiyo glared at the bored, tired man when her luck changed for the better

"Meiyo-san?" a girl said and Meiyo looked over towards the voice, there stood a teenager, probably fourteen, with two brunette buns in her hair, a Chinese style pink top and teal cropped pats paired with blue ninja sandals. The girl looked familiar and her smile reminded her of a little girl that she helped train

"Tenten?" Meiyo croaked as another wave of coughs hit her fragile frame and she fell to her knees only to yelp in pain

"Meiyo!" Tenten said as she ran to the adult, she glared at the Chuunin "She needs a doctor"

"She needs her paperwork" he drawled

"I vouch for her, she is Kodowari Meiyo, the Violet Viper, and she needs a doctor immediately" Tenten said angrily at the man "Now let her through" Meiyo looked at the now shocked man

"The Violet Viper…." He said and stared at the thin, frail, underweight, bloody woman in front of him, she looked nothing like what he remembered the Violet Viper looking like. "Still needs paperwork" he finished, now out of his shock. Everyone needed to show proof of who they were after the attack that occurred during the Chuunin exams.

"Screw you"

"Tenten, that is no way to talk to a splendid youthful Chuunin!" the familiar voice of Gai said, now at the gate to meet the rest of his team to go out on a mission. He gave his female student his nice guy pose and noticed the broken bloody body of a woman with purple hair.

"Gai-sensei, Meiyo-san in injured and needs medical attention" Tenten said as she was beginning to really worry about the woman she held in her hands, Meiyo's hands were freezing while her face, which pressed against her stomach, was burning extremely hot.

"Meiyo-san…?" Gai said in shock and Meiyo tried hard to lift her head and look into the man's eyes. Upon realization Gai's eyes watered up and said "The youthful maiden of Konoha has returned, I will tell the Hokage immediately" and with that he disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

"Idiot, I need a medic!" Meiyo croaked as loud as she could before cringing as the wounds at the corner of her lips reopened, bleeding once more into the mask.

A cloud of smoke appeared and a woman with blond hair, brown eyes, and large breasts appeared in front of the three shinobi. One look at Meiyo and Tsunade had her hands giving off green light as she began looking and healing major wounds before she stopped and looked at Meiyo, who looked back confused

"Tsunade-sannin?" she croaked out, her throat was so dry.

"They really did a number on you." She said in sadness before she rounded on the Chuunin "Why is she not in a hospital?" Tsunade asked angrily The Chuunin slunk back in his box turned cage

"She didn't have paperwork"

"Then you should have brought her to me"

"S-sorry Hokage-sama, I swear it won't happen again"

"H-Hokage?" Meiyo managed to say as her voice cracked

"Oh Meiyo there is so much you don't know, but medical attention comes first" Tenten said as her two other teammates appeared and looked confused at the scene. Tsunade picked up the extremely light tortured girl and disappeared in a large puff of smoke. Tenten glared at the man again "You are an idiot"

"She didn't have paperwork" He said defensively

"Who has paperwork on their mind when they finally escaped after being tortured for seven years?" Tenten seethed, the man shrunk back.

A cluster of nurses closed in on the operation table Meiyo was on as they began healing her many wounds, leaving them as scars. A nurse bravely took off her mask, tugging on it as the blood had begun to harden, and reopened the wounds at the corner of her lips once more. Not expecting the sight she screamed and backed away. Meiyo's eyes watered up slightly and she looked up and blinked them away

'I am hideous,' she thought 'I doubt Kakashi will even be able to look at me like he used to'

The nurses knocked her out so they could stitch her facial wounds out without her screaming and in pain. Once asleep they gave her pain relievers, so the patient would be still when fixing her body.

A single tear escaped Meiyo's eye as her brain replayed the thought of the nurse pulling down her mask and her reaction again, and again, and again.


	20. The Sacrifice for the Village

I am so glad people are enjoying this story as much as I do! I know a lot of you are not that happy with the last chapter, but I wanted to mention that humans normally don't change their view unless something bad happens in their life, so I had to have something bad enough to justify Meiyo's complete change of thought process. Also, as a quick note, I have been planning and waiting for this chapter to come about _**forever**_, and now it is finally here and I hope you get just as excited as I am!

Also, if you need another good KakashixOC story, read "Breaking Mirrors" by XXThistlexFlowerXX

Over 2600 people have read this story and it has only been out for a month!

Thank you to my reviewer: Renji's-Chicka

Read, Enjoy, and please, please Review, I like to hear what you think, it gives me the motivation to move onto the next chapter!

-Otakucraze

* * *

Chapter 20

* * *

Meiyo awoke in the hospital feeling better than she had in a long time. She lifted an arm, seeing scars that were so old they healed themselves, and the newer ones that were smaller that shined silver in the moonlight. The scars covered Meiyo's skin, and Meiyo dropped her arm in disgust before reaching to her face. She was glad the nurses had put a sheet over the bottom half of her face, but Meiyo knew it was out of courtesy and the fact that the nurses probably didn't want to see it. A pink haired girl entered the room and gave her a small smile, Meiyo recognized her light green eyes as the ones that were above the operation mask. She was the one who screamed after seeing her face.

"Good afternoon Kodowari-san" She said politely, and slightly bowed, Meiyo looked away. "I am glad you are awake, I wanted to ask a few questions" Meiyo sighed in response; Meiyo didn't like this girl and wanted her to leave. "Who captured you?" Meiyo's eyes shot back to the girl and she growled, feeling her dry scratchy throat in the process

"That knowledge is for the Hokage and the Hokage alone" she spat, talking through her dry throat as she looked away, once more looking outside.

"Um… How did you escape?"

"I will tell the Hokage, not you. When do I get out of here?" Meiyo said, seething.

"You had multiple injuries, old and new, broken ribs, swollen ankle, reopened wounds, not to mention what they did to your face" Meiyo shot a glare at the girl as the image of her backing away screaming replayed in her head again "We want to know who did this –"

"When do I get out of here?" Meiyo spat through her scratchy throat.

"In a couple days, my next question is… did they… the ones who tortured you… did they…. Hurt you… I mean…-"

"No they did not rape me" Meiyo said deepening her glare to the girl "I was a fucking Halfling to them, why would they want to have sex with me, someone who barely shares their characteristics. I am a disgrace to their stupid fucking clan, they barely touched me with their hands" Meiyo said, "They wanted to kill me" Meiyo said "Do you know what it's like to be interrogated and tortured by those who want to kill you, just because you exist?" Meiyo asked furiously to the nurse, and she gulped "I don't even know how many days I was captured, how many years really" Meiyo drifted off "I don't want to ask any more questions" Meiyo said and the girl bowed before leaving

"I am sorry they did this to you" She said softly and Meiyo shot her another glare. The nurse didn't know anything. The torture was over the top for Meiyo. She had gotten to the point where she could easily detach herself from her body, and wanted nothing more to get out of the hospital.

Meiyo sat up and swung her legs over the side of t he bed and shivered when her feet touched the cold ground. Pushing herself up, she quickly ripped out the cords attaching her to the room and took a shaky step towards a closet, feeling pain shoot from her stomach as she did so. She walked slowly and carefully to the closet and pulled out her clothes, changing slowly and taking in the multitude of scars that ran across her body. The sight disgusted her. She grabbed her pack and swung it over one of her shoulders and could feel she had more chakra reserved now that she was getting fed properly, even if it was from a tube.

Meiyo slipped out of the room, making sure her mask was secure before she left. She knew the Hokage wanted answers, and she need the Hokage to know what happened, she also needed to know what happened while she was gone. Walking slowly out the hospital without being noticed she went to the Hokage tower, walking up the spiral staircase. She knocked softly on the door and waited to be let in.

"Enter" Meiyo did as was ordered and ignored the look of shock on her face "You should be in the hospital"

"I can live with the pain" Meiyo stated and sat down "I understand you had some questions" Meiyo said, sighing in contentment when she leaned back in the chair. She had missed soft comfortable chairs. Meiyo watched lazily as Tsunade grabbed her file before opening it.

"I am a bit confused about some of this" Tsunade admitted "Like your grandfather and the clan he is from" Meiyo sighed

"Trinian-san is from a clan called the Shikyo, they are a ruthless, emotionless clan." Meiyo started as she gave Tsunade a detailed account of what the late Sandaime knew, going slow and explaining when Tsunade looked confused. When she finished telling the woman about her clan she leaned forward on her desk, intertwining her fingers together and leaning her head against them

"So your clan is after these two swords"

"Yes" Meiyo said

"And your brother has one, as do you" Tsunade said, sifting through the information that was given to her. "And this Shikyo clan Kekkei Genkai is through their blood" Meiyo nodded "And they kidnapped you and tortured you for the sake of finding out where the swords are" Meiyo nodded once more

"I was 19 at the time and it was the night of the festival" Meiyo recounted "I have no idea how long I was gone" Meiyo admitted and explained at Tsunade's facial expression "After the torture they would knock me out with blood" Tsunade closed her eyes, feeling pity for the girl

"You were gone for seven years, a lot of people thought you were dead" Tsunade said slowly, watching the top half of Meiyo's face light up from shock

"….seven…years…" she said softly to the Hokage

"Does the Shikyo clan know you escaped?" Meiyo shook her head no and explained how she escaped. "They will not know I escaped until I release my bunshin, they still think the whole mess was created from someone from their own clan." Meiyo explained and Tsunade nodded

"I still think you should rest"

"I will be fine, I am used to the pain" Meiyo said once more and watched the Hokage in front of her cringe "What happened these past seven years? What happened to the Sandaime?"

Tsunade went into a detailed account of how the village was attacked a couple months ago, how Uchiha Sasuke left the village. Meiyo's eyes were wide as she gathered the information. Meiyo yawned and the Hokage gave her a pointed look

"If you do not want to rest in the hospital, fine, but I want you to rest for the next week" Meiyo nodded as Tsunade made shooing hand motions to get the girl to leave. Meiyo stood up slowly, afraid for some of her injuries and bowed slightly before leaving.

Anko bounded up the stairs of the Hokage Tower to talk to the Hokage to see if the rumors of Meiyo's arrival were true to see half of a familiar face.

"Meiyo?" she said slightly shocked at the baggy clothes that covered her tiny body, and the mask on her face, even her hair was down in a tangled, matted down mess. Meiyo looked up and smiled softly, before remembering that her expression from her eyes were all what people could see, and adjusted so she crinkled her eyes. Anko smiled and gave Meiyo a crushing hug. "I thought you were dead" Anko said before she heard a yelp and a sharp intake of breath. She released the girl and looked down to see her clutching her stomach that had reopened. Anko winced and sincerely said "Sorry" Meiyo took a deep breath and managed out a squeaky

"'s okay" Meiyo took another breath, clutching her side, knowing she had to go back to the hospital to get it fixed. "Where Kakashi-san"

"I don't know" Anko said, a knowing smile playing on her lips

"Why wouldn't you know?"

"We kinda broke apart after you left" Anko admitted, walking with Meiyo to the hospital

"Why?" Meiyo asked, confused why her friends would break apart because of her

"Because, we had different ways of grieving; Kakashi wouldn't accept that you were dead, and I thought he was an idiot… I guess I was wrong" Anko said as the two entered the hospital for a swarm of angry nurses to intercept the masked female and drag her back to her room. Meiyo growled in annoyance as Anko laughed. Meiyo always did enjoy doing things her own way.

After the nurses healed her Meiyo relished in the way the nurses looked shocked when she told them the Hokage told her that she didn't need to stay here, and promptly redressed and left, Anko following her old friend to her apartment. Meiyo broke the door down since she had misplaced her key and wheezed when the door brought up the layers of dust that had accumulated on the floor. Meiyo dropped to her knees as she began coughing and Anko took refuge with her nose stuck to her forearm. Meiyo dropped to her hands and began coughing harder, and Anko grabbed the girl gently and brought her outside, slightly shocked by how light the woman was. She leaned Meiyo against the wall away from her apartment and her coughing lessened. Anko looked down, now extremely worried about her friend's health.

"Why don't you stay with me until you get well enough to clean your apartment?" Anko suggested Meiyo looked up; her coughing subsided and closed her eyes before nodding slightly. Anko helped the masked woman up and led her to her apartment and allowed Meiyo to sleep on her bed, knowing she would feel guilty if Meiyo slept on her couch. Anko went out to get food and came back with it. Meiyo took the take-out container of ramen in her hands and looked between the container and Anko. Anko sighed "Are you going to eat?"

"Not with you watching me" Meiyo stated simply. Anko had forgotten just how stubborn Meiyo was and growled at the woman

"Why are you wearing a mask?" Anko said, glaring at her friend

"Why aren't you wearing a bra?" Meiyo countered, giving off an emotionless glare in return. Anko sneered.

"Are you trying to become the female version of Kakashi?" Anko said playfully, a smirk on her face. Meiyo looked appalled, before her once emotionless glare turned deadly.

"Maybe I am just saving the world from having to see the horror of just how badly I was tortured" Meiyo spat, her throat scratching painfully as she did so. Anko bit back her retort at the admission that Meiyo was tortured

"What did they do to you?"

"You don't want to know" Meiyo said quietly, looking down. "Do you mind letting leaving so I can eat?" Meiyo said looking up into the purple eyes of her friend and Anko nodded, closing the door as she left. Meiyo looked around Anko's room before slowly pulling down the mask and putting some of the food gently into her mouth. She chewed slowly, trying to make sure the food did not touch the scars that ran inside her mouth, and cringed when they touched the sensitive skin.

Meiyo put down the ramen when she was full and wiped her mouth before pulling her mask up. She looked at the remaining ramen and was disgusted that her body had been full with ten small bites of ramen and three gulps of the broth. This was showing her just how much the malnutrition and starvation she had become to take a hold of her body in such a way.

* * *

Meiyo stayed bedridden in Anko's room for the next week before her body felt recuperated enough to chance actually roaming the village. By that time the rumor of her return had struck the entire town and Anko encouraged Meiyo to go out and drink with the other Jounin. Meiyo reluctantly agreed, but only in Anko could help her clean her apartment. She even convinced Tenten and her team to help her clean.

Neji glared at the masked woman as he sneezed for the umpteenth time. He didn't like the woman; he was only cleaning because Gai said it was an amazingly youthful thing to do. Tenten said that Meiyo was amazing, that she helped her learn how to do weaponry combat, even put weapons in scrolls. Lee thought the woman was pretty, even if she was very quiet and anti-social, and respected her for teaching Tenten how to fight.

"How about you go to the festival with me this year, oh youthful maiden" Gai said, wiggling his massive eyebrows. Meiyo growled, annoyed that it was all happening again

"Why don't you wax your eyebrows" Meiyo spat back. Tenten guffawed the comment and Neji decided to change his initial impression. If anyone could talk to his sensei that way, they were okay in his book.

"Oh maiden, your youthful spirit flows like a waterfall" Gai said attempting to romance the woman. Meiyo looked at him disgusted

"Much like your blood will be" Meiyo threatened

"Your beauty is similar to that of a lotus flower"

"That's it" Meiyo said as she dropped her broom "I'm getting my poisons" Meiyo was intercepted by Anko, who had traces of hidden laughter on her face

"Come on Meiyo-chan, he likes you"

"He needs to shut up" Meiyo muttered. She was still weak enough to easily lose a fight against the genin in the room, she was better off with her poisons. Meiyo ended up knocking the man out with a quick slip of a kunai when she touched her blood to his hand, acting really concerned for the man and Lee instantly went to take him to the hospital. "Who knew that he would have someone who looks up to him enough to actually dress like him" Meiyo commented to herself as she began to clean her greenroom. She groomed the plants, which had become tangled with the ones nearest it. It looked like a jungle in the room, and in twenty minutes she was sweeping the stems and some of the leaves she couldn't use for her poisons.

With her apartment cleaned she reluctantly followed her friend to the bar, where she was warmly welcomed by Jounin who she had really taken the time to get to know before she was kidnapped. Meiyo was disappointed when she saw Kakashi wasn't there and sat down quietly and listened to the rumors that the Jounin were spreading. Meiyo sat with her back against the door and leaned her head against her hand. Ibiki clapped his hand on her shoulder

"I heard you were tortured" he said and Meiyo looked at him. The conversations around the table subsided as they waited for Meiyo to answer.

"Yeah" Meiyo said as if it were obvious. She looked him over noticing he had on a bandana. "What's with the lame hat?" she asked, causing the group to chuckle lightly. He smirked before taking it off. Meiyo looked at his head in shock, the scars alone made it horrifying to look at

"Comparing battle scars again I see?" A familiar voice said. Meiyo stiffened now afraid to turn around "Who are you comparing it to?" Kakashi asked and Ibiki noticed Meiyo's horrified face, he smirked.

"My old teammate of course" he said, Meiyo took a deep breath and turned, her silver green eyes looking at the man who now towered over her, he looked at her in shock, dropping the yellow book in his hands, it clattered on the ground and caught Meiyo's attention temporarily, Kakashi grabbed Meiyo and pulled her into a tight hug. He put his forehead on top of her head and Meiyo was even stiffer than before, and she was glad her face was pressed against his chest to cover her bright red face. Meiyo had not expected such a reaction from Kakashi since throughout their friendship they never really hugged, the two usually kept their distance.

Meiyo really thought she could face him, but now she didn't think she could, not when he was acting in such a strange manner. He pulled her away at arm's length and looked over her, his eye crinkled in delight until he noticed her mask

"Why are you wearing a mask?" Meiyo barely heard him over the pounding of her heart in her ears. Her brain finally caught up with question and she gulped and looked away "Meiyo, are you okay?" he said quietly.

"Can we go somewhere more private?" Meiyo asked just as quietly and Kakashi nodded grabbing the fallen book and putting it away as he followed behind the now masked girl. She led him to a nearby alley and leaned against the wall, he mimicked her actions on the opposite wall "Kakashi, I have had a lot of time to think, and… and I want to apologize" she said, looking down at her feet, she was still wearing the Shikyo regulated fighters boots.

"Apologize for what?"

"About breaking your heart" She said, still refusing to look him in the face when she said this. "About being stupid enough to think I was cursed, for nearly killing you" Meiyo said, ticking off the list in her head "For pranking you, for hurting you-" her rant was cut short when he tilted her head up.

"You don't need to apologize" he said, making sure she was looking at him. "Why _are_ you wearing a mask?" Meiyo thanked Kami for the distraction and yanked her head away from his hand. Effectively turning her head so she didn't even have to look in his direction

"I don't want to talk about it" Meiyo said. Kakashi looked at her, concern clearly written on his face as he backed up to the opposite wall again

"What did they do to you?" He asked, the concern laced through the words and hit Meiyo hard. She slid down the wall with her face in her hands, beginning to cry. Kakashi was next to her in an instant, comforting her the best he could. "You don't have to tell me right now" he said softly.

"I don't want to talk about it" Meiyo said through her sobbing and Kakashi enveloped her in another hug, much softer than the one before.

"You don't have to, I won't make you, but know that I am here if you want someone to talk to" Kakashi said gently, patting the girl's knee, she looked up at him

"Why are you acting so weird?" Meiyo asked confused by the way he was acting. He looked taken aback for a moment before laughing. Meiyo's confusion deepened and he stopped, seeing her face.

"I missed you" he said

"Enough to hug me twice, pat my knee, speak gently… it's so unlike you. The last time we hugged was when… I don't know; when we were ten?" Kakashi gave her a look that clearly said she was an idiot

"I really like you Meiyo" Kakashi said; looking in her eyes as he watched a whirlwind of emotional turmoil burst into the irises. She looked more confused than she had before to Kakashi but she was piecing together everything, his confession matched his actions and reactions to about as far back as she could remember, and she did have the suspicion that he liked her in a way that she did not when she was younger. Meiyo was just shocked that he hadn't moved on, gotten married to another girl, God knows he still have a gathering of fangirls to do so. The thing that really confused her was the fact that she was piecing together her emotions from as far back as when she first met him

* * *

_Meiyo and Nenriki walked into the room cautiously slightly scared of all the noise from the children inside the classroom. The two had never really gotten along with other children, just because a lot of them were mean and did not seem impressed by their pranks. Meiyo glanced around the room and her eyes stopped at the face of a boy with a mask covering half of his face and silver hair. Meiyo lightly blushed and noticed that he looked annoyed by the other girls surrounding him. Meiyo elbowed her brother and whispered in his ear a pranking plan and a smirk played on his lips, liking the idea of pranking the annoying high-pitched girls on the opposite side of the room. The two simultaneously sat down next to each other and began writing on their arms to convey the plan quietly to each other._

_After school Meiyo and Nenriki watched the girls huddle around the boy as he pretended to ignore them and walked out the door, the crowd of girl's following. Meiyo and Nenriki decided to play Recon as they slowly walked behind the large group of girls for the next hour._

_The Recon game continued for the next two days before the twins grabbed random ingredients from around the house as they went to their adjoined room to mix up a concoction, pouring the mixture in little balloons and threw one at the wall, watching as it splattered the red concoction all over the walls. Meiyo took a couple of the balloons and put one in the fridge and one in the freezer for further experimentation as the two started over._

_The next day the twins exited the school quickly and climbed on top of the roof while they waited, the frozen balloons in their hand and watched as the boy that made Meiyo's cheeks tinge a light pink whenever she saw him come out of the building, followed by a pack of fawning girls. With a nod to each other they dropped the balloons watching as they caused a small explosion, causing the girls to scatter like the wind, the boy whipped himself around looking for the ones responsible when laughter caused him to look up at the twins, who had matching grins on their faces._

"_Why did you do that?" the young Kakashi said._

"_Because you looked annoyed" Meiyo said, as she and her brother climbed down the wall of the building, she landed and walked over to him, "Besides, it looked like you needed help" he glared at her for the comment_

"_I don't need _your_ help" he spat, Meiyo's face contorted to one of anger_

"_You are mean; I don't know why anyone likes you!" Meiyo yelled_

"_You are too loud to be a ninja" the boy spat back, and Meiyo looked shocked and appalled at the boy. Nenriki touched her shoulder_

"_We can get him back soon"_

"_What a stupidface" she said and turned to look at her brother "Let's show him we are better ninja than he will ever be" Meiyo said happily and Nenriki grinned

* * *

_

"I…" Meiyo didn't know if she wanted to tell him

"You what?" Kakashi asked, egging her to continue

"I… kinda... " Meiyo said slowly before taking a deep breath and saying "kindalikeyoutoo" as fast as she could. Kakashi mulled through his brain trying to comprehend her words. "I should probably go home and rest" Meiyo said truthfully "My wounds are still in the process of healing" she said and began to walk off, Kakashi grabbed her hand

"Let me walk you home" He said, pleading with his visible eye. Meiyo nodded, unsure if she should. The two walked in relative silence to Meiyo's apartment. Once there he noticed the new door "What happened to your door"

"I didn't have my key" she said as if it was the stupidest question in the world, fishing out her new key and unlocking the door. Kakashi grabbed her hand and gently squeezed, Meiyo turned and Kakashi took that moment to cup her face in his hand, looking into her eyes, noting that they looked slightly scared. Kakashi decided not to push her; she admitted that she liked him and that should be enough for one day.

"Goodnight" He said as he stroked her gloved knuckles and she crinkled her eyes to tell him she was smiling

"Goodnight" She said and slipped her hand away from his and went to close the door when Kakashi said

"I am glad you like me too" Meiyo's face turned a deep red and she closed the door the rest of the way quickly.

* * *

One Month Later

* * *

Kakashi made it a point to spend as much time with Meiyo as possible, yet not push the girl into anything she didn't want to do.

She opened the door before he could n=knock and she noticed a yellow book in his hands

"Icha Icha Paradise… didn't I give that to you?" Meiyo asked. His eye crinkled, showing he was smiled

"Yes"

"And you kept it this long?"

"It's a good book"

"I'll have to read it sometime"

"I don't think you'll like it"

Meiyo was dressed slightly more like she used to, her waist cincher was once again back on now that her injuries were completely healed. The jacket that was standard issue for Shikyo fighters was turned into a vest, the Shikyo clan symbol hand sewn on the back. She attacked the long sleeved shirt and pants, sewing them so they fit her better and were tighter to the body and the sleeves were cut off of the shirt when the shirt had the same procedure. The sleeves were turned into arm warmers, that started on the upper part of the bicep and she still wore gloves and her mask. Kakashi was glad for the change, but was disappointed that she had yet to say anything that had happened to her during her time interrogated.

Kakashi was just about to answer when Meiyo whipped her head towards the gate

"What is it?"

"They found me"

"How?"

"I dropped the bunshin a week ago" Meiyo said, her voice showing her slight panic "Stay here" she said as she went to the room with all her poisons. She grabbed a kunai and went to the small closet; Kakashi followed her, and watched her slice the wallpaper and pull it up, exposing a genjutsu tag. She ripped it off and went inside the small closet, using the kunai to pull up two of the floorboards, revealing a katana

"That isn't the blood sword you told me about, is it?"

"Yep"

"What are you planning on doing?"

"Something stupid" Meiyo said as she put the holster around herself, and grabbed her pouches of kunai and shuriken.

"I'm not letting you-"

"Kakashi-san it is either me or the entire village. As a shinobi we are taught to sacrifice ourselves for the village, so drop it" Meiyo said, her face set with determination as she began to detach herself emotionally Meiyo searched her apartment for the katana her grandfather made her

"Please don't" Kakashi said

"I have to" Meiyo said, scratching her forearm when she spotted the katana and put it on before exiting her apartment, Kakashi at her heels. Meiyo intentionally went to a large intersection in the more deserted part of the village and yelled "ALL RIGHT YOU BASTARDS, YOU WANT THE FUCKING SWORD SO BAD… HERE" Meiyo said as she unsheathed the blade and threw it six feet away from her. Kakashi was watching three feet away from Meiyo, ready to block anything from happening to her, he had no idea what to expect.

Seven men appeared around Meiyo and one grabbed her hair and pulled, placing a kunai on her exposed neck. Meiyo shot a hand up to the hand gripping her hair and held it, trying to steady it so she wasn't in so much pain. The oldest of the men came up and grabbed the sword on the ground. He studied it, the Shikyo clan symbol, the hilt, the guard, the blade itself

"Where is the other one?"

"With my brother's body" She said emotionlessly. The man looked at the man closest to him on his right

"Where is her twin?"

"Dead sir"

"Where is he buried?"

"How am I supposed to remember, I was drifting in and out of consciousness, besides, it was almost twenty years ago" Meiyo said, wincing as she was lifted from the ground slightly from her hair

"Do you know where he is buried?" The man in charge, now Bastard #1 to Meiyo, asked the boy

"Somewhere in the northwest part of the Fire country sir" he said. The man looked at the sword and was thinking. Meiyo instinctively grabbed a senbon from her cincher and waited for her moment. As she was hoping the man went to bond himself with the sword, sliding his finger along the blade. His body seized for a moment before he dropped to the ground. The six men looked at their now dead leader and Meiyo struck the senbon in her hand in the man's thigh, causing him to let go of her hair. Jumping while still holding his hand she swung behind him, grabbed his head with both hands and got herself balanced on his back before breaking his neck. He fell and she landed on her feet, his lolling head in between her legs. She looked at the five men expectantly as they gathered the information around them

"What the hell, your twin is dead"

"I poisoned the blade" Meiyo said in monotone, completely detached from her emotions

Unbeknownst to Meiyo another Shikyo snuck up behind her and the five men that she knew about had a smirk play on their lips, curious she turned around to see a man ready to swing his blade. Meiyo couldn't react fast enough, Kakashi ran towards her and a man in a cloak ran a blade in his skull, what looked like electricity flashed in the man's eyes and mouth as he screamed before falling on the ground, dead. The man pulled out the sword and looked at Meiyo, sheathing his sword as he did so, he dropped the hood revealing the same shade of purple hair and silver green eyes she had, she grinned as she reattached her emotions and said playfully

"About time you got here Nenriki"


	21. Pulling Down the Mask

I am so glad people are enjoying this story as much as I do! I know a lot of you are not that happy with the last chapter, but I wanted to mention that humans normally don't change their view unless something bad happens in their life, so I had to have something bad enough to justify Meiyo's complete change of thought process. Also, as a quick note, I have been planning and waiting for this chapter to come about _**forever**_, and now it is finally here and I hope you get just as excited as I am! Hahahahaha! This story is so much fun to write!

Also, if you need another good KakashixOC story, read "Breaking Mirrors" by XXThistlexFlowerXX

Over 2600 people have read this story and it has only been out for a month!

Thank you to my reviewers: Renji's-Chicka, LadyAmazon, and Ella Unlimited!

Read, Enjoy, and please, please Review, I like to hear what you think, it gives me the motivation to move onto the next chapter!

-Otakucraze

* * *

Chapter 21

* * *

_Meiyo, Nenriki and Trinian were standing in the Hokage's office forming a plan of action._

"_The Shikyo clan is ruthless, they believe that women cannot fight" Trinian continued, describing the clan to the Hokage "They attacked me and it is only a matter of time before they realize I live here, I need to protect my grandchildren"_

"_Describe these swords"_

"_The swords can only be used by twins that have bonded with the blade. If someone has not bonded with the blade and attempts to use it, or tries to bond with the blade when it has been bound to someone else, they will die" Trinian explained._

"_So a twin could use both blades"_

"_No, if a twin tries to do that, even if they have been bonded, will die, the blades are symbols of unity through twins, each has one, with their primary hand opposite of each other." Trinian explained _

"_So if the Shikyo clan thought one of your grandchildren is dead, they would attack correct?"_

"_They would try to find out where the other blade is and then attempt to bond with the one they found" Trinian explained, "Why?"_

"_What if we split the two up, one goes to another country and the other stays here, and we fake one of their deaths."_

"_That… would work" Trinian said "And they could each carry one of the swords." Trinian said "Just in case anything happens"_

"_Which one should leave the village then?" the Hokage said_

"_Nenriki should" Meiyo said, the older men looked at her_

"_Why?" the Hokage asked_

"_Because the Shikyo clan believes that women are useless, even if I am a powerful kunoichi, they will underestimate me, probably torture me, rather than just outright kill Nenriki and then ask questions later." Meiyo said. Trinian smiled and patted her head_

"_Very well, Meiyo-chan" Meiyo looked at the older man "How well can you act?"

* * *

_

Meiyo ginned at her twin, and he looked confused for a moment

"Why are you wearing a mask?" He asked, he grin faltered

"Just shut up" Meiyo said as she looked at the five remaining, completely shocked members of the Shikyo clan. Meiyo's eyes rested upon her blood sword as Kakashi looked on in complete shock, her brother was alive?

Meiyo smirked, unseen from the mask and pounced for her sword, the boy that spoke from before reacted and did hand seal. Meiyo took note of this and did a summersault after grabbing the sword and thrust it into his stomach before he could finish. Lightning danced around his eyes as he fell limp onto the sword. Meiyo stood and kicked the body off and did back flips before the other Shikyo men could react to their numbers drastically decreasing. Meiyo put her back against her twins and felt the familiar warmth come back to her. How she had missed her brother. She was glad he smelled the same. The two held their swords out defensively in front of them, waiting for the remaining Shikyo fighters to react.

"So, any ideas?" Nenriki asked

"Bunshin" Meiyo said "Even though Senjutsu is supposedly your good point"

"Oh shut up, you were always the observant one"

"Better to be the observant twin than the lazy late one" Meiyo muttered

"HEY" Nenriki said

"Pay attention" Meiyo chastised, grinning. Meiyo was glad her twin had not changed that much. "Let's split up" Meiyo wrote on her arm, ignoring the scars that danced along her fair skin,

"Why the hell should we do that?" Wrote back

"They will underestimate me and it will be fun" Meiyo wrote back

"You are insane" Nenriki's final response was when they jumped apart. As Meiyo expected three went to fight her brother and one went off to fight her

'Stupid bastards' Meiyo thought as she took a senbon needle out of her cincher and hid it in her hand as she held her blood sword out

"Whore, because of you the Shikyo clan has been disgraced" The man seethed

"Because of you my life is ruined" Meiyo countered

"You stole the swords" He accused

"No, that was my Ojii-san, I stole that scroll" Meiyo said, smirking as anger broke through the emotionless bastard in front of her as he pounced. Meiyo scratched him on the cheek as she dodged and he clutched his throat. Meiyo backed off a bit and dropped the senbon as she grabbed another, making sure it was the one that dripped red poison. She smirked and dropped her sword, running to the man who thought could cut her brother's head off and stabbed him in her shoulder with the senbon, retracted and hit another man's hand, and Nenriki stabbed the last man in the stomach. "Well that was fun" Meiyo said, picking up the poisoned senbon needles as the two men began coughing up their internal organs, Nenriki looked disgusted

"What the hell did you do to them?" Nenriki asked

"Poisoned them" Meiyo said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"When did you start working with poisons?"

"A long time ago Nenriki, a long, long time ago. How have you been?"

* * *

_Nenriki called out a clone and waited in the house as Meiyo finished getting ready for the mission_

"_I am going to miss you" Nenriki said sitting on Meiyo's bed behind her._

"_Me too"_

"_Remember to act it out well" Nenriki said, hugging his sister. Meiyo clutched his hands towards her more as she leaned back into his chest_

"_When do you think we will see each other again?" Meiyo asked_

"_Soon" He said as he let her go, it was not good to be late. His clone came in and smiled, he was here to get her to go._

_Meiyo walked down the stairs with her brother and his clone and their grandfather handed Nenriki his blood sword and leaned in front of his granddaughter and said_

"_Remember, you must act like Nenriki is dead, give a spectacular performance and when the Shikyo finally do come for you they will not kill you in belief you are the only one left that knows where the swords are"_

"_What happens after that?"_

"_Then you tell your brother through writing and he will come back, keep acting, act as if you don't care if you die, and they will be less wary over you and of your sword" Trinian said to the girl. She took a deep breath and hugged her brother_

"_Where will he go?"_

"_I am going to Kumogakure while you are on mission, Meiyo, I will hide Nenriki along with my swords and ten get a job set up for him to be a blacksmith's apprentice, he will be in a henge the entire time just to make sure they will never suspect him" Trinian said and Meiyo nodded "You need to go" Trinian said as he cloned Nenriki's blood sword and took Meiyo's as well. Meiyo nodded once more and grabbed the clone's hand and rushed out the door

* * *

_

"I've been good" Nenriki said as he gave his sister a hug. She smiled in his embrace, oh how she had missed this. She had missed feeling his embrace, and the confidence that came instantly when by his side. She looked him over, noting his cloak and black attire, but he seemed a lot more buff that he had when she last saw him. But this was expected since he was a blacksmith. He was the same height as she was and his hair was in a choppy hair cut, his bangs swooped to the side, as did Meiyo's and constantly fell into his right eye, the exact replica of Meiyo's hair. "You don't have your hair in a braid" He noted, tugging his fingers through her tresses, she had put it in a ponytail that day, and she smiled as he felt her hair. "How do you get your hair this soft?" He muttered and Meiyo grinned

"If you want I can show you" Meiyo said playfully

"Ha no, I don't want people thinking of me as if I was queer"

Anko took that moment to run into the intersection

"A cloaked man ran through the gate without paperwork, all Jounins are asked to sear-" Anko stopped as Nenriki looked over, curious at the newcomer, and noticed Kakashi, still standing in complete shock. Anko's jaw dropped "You… are…" Anko looked between Meiyo and Nenriki, her head spinning faster and faster

"We should probably get you to the Hokage Nenriki" Meiyo said, shoving her brother playfully in the arm when Anko's eyes widened even more

"He's... He's dead… how is he still alive?" Anko asked. Nenriki grinned, a similar grin hid behind Meiyo's mask. Nenriki got closer to the woman and tilted his head

"Simple" he said, still grinning "If I am alive, I can't be dead" Nenriki said playfully as he winked at the woman. Meiyo glared at his back as Anko's cheeks turned a light pink.

"Come on, you player" Meiyo said, tugging on her twin's arm. "Let's get this mess straightened with the Hokage before ANBU start attacking you" Meiyo said, pulling on his arms

"Do I know you?" Nenriki asked Anko "You look familiar" Anko's face went from a pink tinge on the cheeks to a full blown red

"Nenriki, you can flirt with Mitarashi Anko-chan later, right now we need to get you to the Hokage to sort this mess out" Anko froze… Someone was flirting with her?

"Anko-_chan_? So you know her?" Nenriki said, finally following his sister

"Yes, I can tell you everything you want to know about her on the way to the Hokage Tower, including how to get in her pants" Meiyo said, smirking as she waited for her friend's reaction to come. Meiyo did not have to wait long

"Meiyo-chan?" Meiyo's smirk turned into a full-blown grin and she walked away with her twin now fully intent on finding information about the girl

"Hokage-sama" Meiyo said as she poked her head into the room.

"Yes" Tsunade said, not looking up

"I have a surprise for you" Meiyo said, her mischievous ways now back into play. Tsunade looked up, annoyed

"What is it, Meiyo? I have a lot of work to do, and I don't have time for your games" she said, giving a pointed look to the younger girl. Meiyo grinned, crinkling her eyes before opening the door up wider and pushed her twin in the room; he stumbled a bit before regaining his balance and looked up at the new Hokage, smiling wide in embarrassment. Tsunade dropped her pen in shock as Meiyo said

"Look who decided to come home"

* * *

"Sorry about just leaving you there" Meiyo said to Kakashi as she caught up with him later "But ANBU were on his trail and it had to be dealt with immediately" she said, crinkling her eyes as she smiled. Kakashi softly smiled at the woman, she seemed more alive than she had before. Green goop fell from the roof and a man's laughter filled the air. Meiyo flicked some off of her in annoyance "NENRIKI!" She yelled, and her twin jumped down

"Take that Hatake-dobe" He said and Meiyo whacked him hard in the back of the head in irritation "What was that for"

"You are an idiot"

"I was pranking the Hatake-teme, what's the problem"

"They are going out" Anko said, coming up from behind Meiyo.

"We are not!" Meiyo said indignantly

"You practically are" Anko said causing Meiyo's face to turn a bright red in embarrassment

"Hello beautiful, I didn't think I would see you so soon" Nenriki said, casually walking closer to the woman. Meiyo glared at her brother and went to help Kakashi get the goop out of his hair.

"I am so sorry Kakashi-san" Meiyo said "I forgot about the stupid rivalry we had when we were younger" she said, flicking a piece of the goop off of his shoulder. He sighed and smiled.

"It's fine, why don't you come over and help me get this out?" Kakashi suggested and Meiyo looked over her shoulder at her brother, who was flirting with Anko like mad. She sighed at the sight and nodded. She made it two steps away from the scene when saw Ibiki

"What the hell?" He yelled, and Meiyo cringed "I saw you die! You can't be alive!" Meiyo made her way over to the man and put her hand on his shoulder and simply said

"It was a clone"

"You didn't act like it was a clone!" Ibiki said, rounding on the woman

"That was the point" Meiyo said as she went back to Kakashi's side and walked him to his house.

* * *

She put his head under the sink and poured hot water on top of it. Kakashi sighed; he was expecting for her to help him in the shower… she wasn't thinking the same thing apparently

After the washing of his hair via the sink, and after Kakashi changed his clothes and put the product in his hair to make it defy gravity… and after it had dried properly, Meiyo asked

"What are we going to do today?" Kakashi smiled at her question, after all that drama she still wanted to be around him

"Don't you want to be around your twin? You haven't seen him in twenty years"

"Normally I would agree but right now he has eyes for Anko… so you will have to do today" Meiyo said from her spot on his couch as she flipped through one of his many jutsu books. Kakashi sighed, that was a bit cold

"I was thinking a walk would be nice" Kakashi admitted and Meiyo shrugged, getting up from the couch and walked out the door, Kakashi followed and closed the door behind him.

The two had gotten used to holding hands, and Meiyo was trying to get herself comfortable with getting hugs from Kakashi, which could come from the front side or from behind. She wasn't used to the affection, the last time she had was when her grandfather was alive, and she realized the slight affection Kakashi allowed himself to give the girl was nice. After being tortured and treated like a worthless piece of crab, Kakashi's gentle sweet attitude and actions appealed to Meiyo, and she enjoyed Kakashi's company more than the loudmouthed stubborn female friend she had. Kakashi was quiet, and kind, the exact opposite of how she was treated in the interrogation room on the Shikyo Island.

Kakashi and Meiyo were walking along a dirt part that led to a small bridge over a creek. The two decided to stop there and enjoy the scene around them. Kakashi wound his arms around Meiyo's middle gently leaning his head against hers as they looked towards the creek.

"When are you going to show me what they did to you?"

"Never"

"Why?"

"I'm hideous" Meiyo said simply. Confused Kakashi turned the girl around, and gave her a hard look

"You are not hideous"

"Yes I am"

"No you are not, why would you ever think that way?"

"You haven't seen the scars that run along my body Kakashi" Meiyo said, looking down. She wasn't angry, just disgusted with herself.

"Is that why you wear the mask?"

"Yes"

"They can't be that bad" Kakashi said, trying to cheer her up. She gave him a pointed look

"A nurse screamed when she pulled off my mask" She said sadly. Kakashi lightly touched either side of her face and Meiyo looked up at him again

"Please let me see" he said

"You won't like what you see"

"I doubt it, scars give a person character" Kakashi said, and once again her eyes met his. "You are still the same person, it doesn't matter how many scars on the outside you have" Kakashi said, and Meiyo closed her eyes and nodded. Kakashi gently pulled down the mask that covered the woman's face and took a sharp intake of breath. Small scars, barely visible except in the sunlight when they turned a light silver, covered the lower half of her face, but the major thing was the two deep cuts that started on either side of Meiyo's mouth going upward. He gently rubbed his thumb over the scars and felt extreme pity on the girl. He felt something wet hit his fingers and noticed she was crying. Kakashi leaned down and kissed the tears away before planting a very light kiss on her lips, he felt her cheeks flush before he pulled away and looked into her eyes, they were swimming with mixed emotions

"You kissed me" she whispered

"Of course I did" he said as softly enjoying her reaction, he wrapped his arms around her torso slowly; he didn't want to make her mad

"Why?"

"Because I like you" Kakashi said simply, leaning his forehead against hers "And you are beautiful" he added for good measure, smiling as her reaction turned to one of light shock

"You think… I'm… pretty? Even with the scars?"

"Scars don't mean anything, I have a scar" Kakashi said, raising the hitai-ate to prove it "


	22. Compromise

I am so glad people are enjoying this story as much as I do! I know a lot of you are not that happy with the torture, but I wanted to mention that humans normally don't change their view unless something bad happens in their life, so I had to have something bad enough to justify Meiyo's complete change of thought process. Also, as a quick note, I have been planning and waiting for this chapter to come about _**forever**_, and now it is finally here and I hope you get just as excited as I am! Hahahahaha! This story is so much fun to write!

Also, if you need another good KakashixOC story, read "Breaking Mirrors" by XXThistlexFlowerXX

Over 3300 people have read this story and it has only been out for a little over month!

Thank you to my reviewers: Renji's-Chicka, LadyAmazon, and Ella Unlimited!

Read, Enjoy, and please, please Review, I like to hear what you think, it gives me the motivation to move onto the next chapter!

-Otakucraze

* * *

Chapter 22

* * *

Meiyo was still in light shock at what had happened between Kakashi and her the night before. Added with her twin complaining about sleeping on her tiny couch and the fact that he didn't want to sleep in her apartment… well Meiyo's head was swimming, and she couldn't sleep much.

That morning Meiyo walked around the town, her eyes drooping when she came across the pink haired nurse from before. She cringed, her screams replayed in her head, and she went to avoid her when two strong arms wrapped around her torso and a man she knew whispered in her ear

"Good morning"

"Kakashi-san" Meiyo said through a yawn. Curious Kakashi turned her around and Meiyo looked up at him with her tired eyes. He gently brushed her bangs out of her eyes

"You didn't sleep" Meiyo shook her head no, confirming his suspicion "Why?"

"Kept thinking everything over, my mind wouldn't shut off… I'm tired" Meiyo said, barely making sense to the man who still gently held her

"Ohayo Kakashi-sensei" the pink haired nurse said, noting the purple haired masked woman in his arms "Kodowari-san" she acknowledged.

"Since when did you become a sensei?" Meiyo asked the masked man who began scratching the back of his neck

"A while now" He said. Meiyo was smirking under her mask

"You teach medical jutsu?"

"No, Tsunade-sensei teaches me" The girl said, looking over the woman once more

"Ah, that is impressive" Meiyo noted, still not liking the girl.

"Are you two dating?" She inquired and Meiyo shook her head no.

"We are only friends" Meiyo said

"The way Kakashi-sensei is holding does not confirm your statement Kodowari-san" the girl said slyly and Meiyo glared at her

"Who are you?" she asked

"Haruno Sakura" she said "What I don't understand is how any woman would want to date Kakashi-sensei when he reads his smut all the time" She said and Meiyo whipped her head to give Kakashi a critical look

"Smut? You? When?"

"Uh"

"Hand it over" Meiyo ordered and Kakashi let the woman go, digging out his little yellow book from his Jounin vest and handing it to the masked woman. Meiyo recognized the book and her face grew red. "Shit" she said and Kakashi grinned at her reaction "It can't be" Meiyo muttered to herself, leaving Sakura confused. Meiyo opened it up and began reading a couple sentences before her face grew intensely hot and shut the book and pushed it back to the man embarrassed "I gave you smut" Meiyo admitted, shocked. Kakashi's grin grew wider "I can't believe it" Meiyo said, leaning against the nearest wall as she pulled back her hair, weaving her fingers through her locks as she did so. They fell back in place. "No wonder you kept it" Meiyo stated before standing back up, poking a finger in his chest "You filthy pervert! You lied to me and told me it was a good book" Sakura took that time to leave, she had no idea the girl had been the one responsible and actually given her teacher porn.

"It is" Kakashi said defensively putting his hands up near his chest, palms towards Meiyo. She kept poking his chest.

"You continually read it" Meiyo accused "And I was idiotic enough to think you changed from your perverted ways" Meiyo said through gritted teeth.

"Meiyo, I kept it to remind myself you were still alive"

"Bullshit" Meiyo said, crossing her arms over her chest and glaring at the man

"Why wouldn't I keep one of the only things you ever gave me?" Kakashi asked, and Meiyo's glare turned softer "You have no idea what your kidnapping did to me Meiyo" Kakashi admitted "I was ready to go AWOL to find you, become a missing-nin, directly disobeying the Hokage's orders to search for you and help you escape." He said. Meiyo looked down at the ground

"You promised" Meiyo said

"What?"

"Our first mission together, you promised you wouldn't follow me when it came to the Shikyo clan" Meiyo said

"What did you expect me to do? Just give up and think you were dead?"

"Yes"

"Why?"

"Because you promised"

"I was... what? Thirteen? A pretty girl told me to promise her something and I agreed, if I was nineteen I never would have"

"You still broke your promise"

"Why do you always instigate these fights Meiyo?" Kakashi asked sincerely "We start fighting about the Icha Icha book you won at a festival the day you were kidnapped and now we are fighting about a promise I made when I was thirteen?" Meiyo looked down, she had never noticed she instigated fights "And you do it whenever you are near me the more than anyone else, Meiyo-chan… are you that uncomfortable around me, that you need a possible escape route whenever I am near you?"

Meiyo backed up, shocked at the question. Kakashi looked hurt at her reaction.

"I didn't realize" Meiyo said softly, eyes still wide from the shock. Kakashi sighed

"I don't know exactly how you feel about me Meiyo, I am fine with being just friends with you, but I would prefer to be more, and I don't think you exactly know. So please figure it out and once you do tell me" Kakashi said as he turned and left. Meiyo's brain reeled with the new information, attempting to figure out just how she felt about the man.

Meiyo didn't leave her apartment for the next week, she just stayed in her room, and leaving only to use the bathroom or grab something from her cabinets… she dared not to open her fridge.

"Meiyo" Nenriki said coming home and seeing Meiyo in the same position he had left her in. He was getting extremely worried about his sister "What's wrong?"

"I don't know how I feel about him" she said, barely above a whisper. Nenriki nodded in understanding

"Do you like him?"

"Yes"

"Do you like him as a friend?"

"Yes"

"Would you want something more with him?"

"Like what?" Meiyo asked, confused. Nenriki looked amused by the look on the upper part of Meiyo's face

"Hugging, kissing… sex" He said

"He hugs me all the time, it's kind of awkward, he like to hold my hand, I don't mind that as much, he kissed me… three times"

"Really?" Nenriki's attitude changed, he was not expecting the Hatake to actually kiss his sister… hugging and holding hand, fine, but kissing, no.

"Yeah, twice he did it without permission; last week… it was more mutual"

"He kissed you without permission, he forced himself on you?" Nenriki said angrily, Meiyo noticed the mistake immediately

"Stop twisting my words it wasn't like that"

"I am going to kill him" He said, grabbing his blood sword. Meiyo's eyes went wide as her brain clicked, Nenriki wasn't joking.

"Nenriki, stop, you can't kill him" She said, yelling at him as she ran after the man, she left her apartment door open "Nenriki, no, stop!"

"You" Nenriki said to a masked man standing next to a pink-haired girl and a blonde haired boy. Meiyo began to freak out and ran faster "You touched my sister without permission, you forced yourself on her and you will die for it" He said as he unsheathed the sword. Kakashi looked horrified as Meiyo threw herself in front of Kakashi

"Stop, I won't let you kill him" Nenriki smirked, sheathing the sword as his smirk turned into a grin

"There you go Meiyo, you have your answer, you like him more than a friend" Nenriki said proudly. Meiyo's jaw dropped

"That was all a fucking test?" Meiyo yelled at her twin, Nenriki's grin grew wider

"Yep" he said proudly. Anko came out of the shadows and snaked her arms around his chest

"I told you it would work" She said just as proudly, Meiyo was in shock

"Anko, you conspired against me… and Nenriki… in front of everyone?" Meiyo said in expiration, Nenriki and Anko high fived each other. Meiyo filtered the information and turned to face an amused Kakashi and his shocked students, she sneered at the situation her twin and friend put her in and sighed, looking up at the bemused eye that was Kakashi's face "Would you like me to cook you dinner?" she asked calmly. Kakashi's eye crinkled in delight at the thought of Meiyo's cooking

"Sure" Kakashi said and Meiyo smirked evilly at an idea. She sauntered closer to Kakashi and walked her fingers up his chest, shocking the newly formed couple behind her and sending shivers down Kakashi's spine. She got on her tip toes to whisper close to his ear

"Remember when we were younger and you said you would buy groceries?"

"Yes" Kakashi said, hoping that there would be more than groceries involved.

"I need you to get those for me" She said as sexily as she could as she ran her fingers down his chest and turned, swaying her hips as she walked away, punching her shocked twin in the shoulder "Bastard" she muttered to him. Kakashi was in a blissful form of shock when he noticed the death glare coming from her twin

"Hurt her and I will kill you" he said to him and walked away, Anko clutching his arm happily as they decided to go out for dango.

"What is going on?" Naruto asked his student "I am gone for two years and a masked woman comes on to Kakashi-sensei, and her brother threatens to kill you… what the hell did I miss dattebayo?"

* * *

Kakashi slid his hands around her torso and rested his chin on her shoulder. Meiyo tensed slightly from the action and Kakashi grinned, kissing her neck to watch her stiffen even more, he chuckled into her skin, and Meiyo pouted

"Stop" Meiyo said.

"Why?" Kakashi said, kissing her neck again. Meiyo elbowed him in the stomach and he backed off

"Because I said so" Meiyo said as she continued to chop vegetables. Kakashi sighed and decided to leave the woman to cook and dropped himself on his couch, positioning himself so he could still watch her.

"Take off the mask" He ordered

"You take off yours" She replied. Kakashi rolled his eyes and did as she asked

"Your turn" Kakashi said, slightly annoyed at her antics. Meiyo looked behind her slightly and sighed as she pulled the fabric from her face. Kakashi grinned. She was trying to be civil, and that was a start. Kakashi watched as she cooked, his eyes taking in her motions, the slight movement of her hair when she moved, the way her eyes drifted back and forth from the frying pan and the vegetables she was chopping at lightning speed.

"Will you stop staring?" Meiyo asked as she dumped the vegetables in the wok.

"I'd rather not" Kakashi answered, Meiyo rolled her eyes again. Meiyo tried to ignore him while she stirred. She stopped once more, putting the spatula down beside the wok, watching it steam

"Please stop staring" She said softly and Kakashi knew how much it took her to be polite in a situation where she was uncomfortable and sighed

"Fine" he said, pulling out his little yellow book

"Thank you" she said in exasperation and wet back to stirring the meal she was creating. She chanced a glance over in his direction and threw the spatula over at him; he dodged, looking over at her curiously.

"Throw the porn away"

"You gave it to me" He reminded, turning a page, using the book to cover his smirk.

"I didn't know it was porn" Meiyo said, chastisingly

"Well now you do" Kakashi said, trying to hide the grin on his face with the tiny book. Meiyo growled and turned off the stovetop and pounced on him attempting to grab the book away from him. Kakashi suspected that it would happen and got it as far away from her as possible, stretching his arm out to do so. Meiyo was determined to get the damn book away from Kakashi and didn't even know she was actually straddling the man. Kakashi smirked and rolled over, trapping the girl beneath him and smirked as he rested his forehead on top of hers, Meiyo pouted up at Kakashi and he grinned and kissed her nose. "Do you know how adorable you are?" He asked and Meiyo looked appalled

"I am not" she said

"Yes you are" he said knowingly, grinning down at her. "Why don't we make a compromise" Kakashi suggested

"I am not playing out your fantasies from that retched book" Meiyo said indignantly. Kakashi grinned

"I never thought you would" He said

"What's the compromise?"

"You go out on a date, you know, where you get dressed up and leave the house" Meiyo glared lightly at him "Once a week and I will make sure you never see the books again" Kakashi said, Meiyo's eyes widened

"There are more? You bought more of those disgusting books?" Meiyo said appalled at the man above her, Kakashi smacked himself mentally for the slip up. Meiyo looked disgusted at him and wiggled herself away.

"Meiyo" he said, grabbing her waist and having her sit on his lap

"Get off of me you pervert" She said angrily. Annoyed at how things were turning out Kakashi swung his legs around her to make it harder for her to escape

"Please don't be mad at me" He said

"Why shouldn't I?"

"Because Junko reminds me of you"

"Who?"

"The female lead in the book" Kakashi said. Meiyo stopped struggling and looked at him

"So you read them to fantasize about me?" Meiyo asked, more disgusted now than ever

"I thought I'd never see you again" Kakashi said sadly "It was a way to play out what I wished, and never thought would happen, in word form" Meiyo looked down. She had to remember that she was gone and tortured for seven years, and this man, who really liked her, thought he would never see her again, and read the book he gave her… was it really that big of a deal

"I accept your compromise" Meiyo said, Kakashi grinned at her "But I never want to see those books again otherwise I will burn them and this house down, understand?"

"Perfectly"


	23. Bickering

I am so glad people are enjoying this story as much as I do! I know a lot of you are not that happy with the torture, but I wanted to mention that humans normally don't change their view unless something bad happens in their life, so I had to have something bad enough to justify Meiyo's complete change of thought process. Also, as a quick note, I have been planning and waiting for this chapter to come about _**forever**_, and now it is finally here and I hope you get just as excited as I am! Hahahahaha! This story is so much fun to write!

OMGosh guys I am so sorry, I didn't realize I uploaded Chapter 18 twice… my bad, please go back and read the real Chapter 19 if you haven't already, it may make everything make more sense… Again, I am so sorry.

Thank you 8hanabi8 for bringing this to my attention

And thank you to my lovely reviewers: Ella Unlimited, LadyAmazon, and 8hanabi8

OMGosh! Nearly 4000 readers! Ahh Thank you so much!

Read, Enjoy, and please, please Review, I like to hear what you think, it gives me the motivation to move onto the next chapter!

-Otakucraze

* * *

Chapter 23

* * *

"What do you mean you don't want to be a shinobi?" Meiyo screamed at her brother

"I haven't been one in twenty years and I like being a blacksmith" Nenriki said simply, like it was the easiest thing to understand in the world. Meiyo seethed at her twin before she dragged him to the Hokage's office

"He refuses to be a shinobi" Meiyo said, smirking underneath her mask

"I know" Tsunade said and Meiyo's smirk disappeared off her face

"What do you mean you know? You are allowing him to be a blacksmith rather than be a shinobi? Why?"

"It will help financially Meiyo-chan" Nenriki said, "And besides, Hinshu needs all the help he can get" Meiyo frowned stubbornly, and unseen to her brother, scowling before storming out of the Hokage's office. So much for that plan.

* * *

"I don't want to do a D-rank mission Kakashi-sensei"

"I will feed you kiddo" Meiyo said smiling "I just need to clean up my house" Meiyo said "Because my twin is driving me insane and I have started to sleep in my greenhouse so he will leave me alone" The woman muttered

"I can't do this all day" Sakura said as she dropped a box in the dusty living room and winced "Kami! When was the last time anyone lived here?"

"A long time ago" Kakashi said dropping his box on the very dusty table. Meiyo sighed; happy she had a mask to at least help a tiny bit with the dust.

"There are three rooms upstairs" Meiyo said "So everyone gets to pick one-"

"Hey I heard another cleaning was needed" Tenten said as she entered through the shop's back door

"Tenten-chan, you helped me clean my apartment, you don't need to help me with the house too" Meiyo said, touched by the girl's kindness

"It is no problem; Otou-san said he would be by soon to help too"

"Who will be watching the shop then?" Meiyo asked

"Nenriki-san" Tenten said

"That bastard" Meiyo muttered "He gets out of everything" Meiyo said through gritted teeth "Where is he?" Tenten pointed behind her and Meiyo stalked past her pulling her twin through the door by his earlobe while lecturing him about using people and how she would not be responsible for cleaning his room if he continued his actions

"Whatever" Nenriki said when he finally got out of Meiyo's grip and she glared at him. Kakashi leaned against the wall and smirked, enjoying the show of the twins bickering

"Do we have to do a D-rank mission" Naruto whined and Meiyo rounded on him, Nenriki using the distraction as a way to escape, only to be grabbed by his younger twin sister

"I told you I will make you food" Meiyo said, "If you would rather me not make it, it is fine with me" Kakashi whacked his student over the head

"Her food is delicious shut up before you ruin it for everyone else" He whispered in his student's ear Meiyo smiled at the silver haired man and went back to her brother

"You are pathetic" She said "Trying to sneak past me while you think I am distracted?"

"While you think I am distracted," Nenriki mocked and Meiyo glared "Do you even hear yourself talk?" Nenriki egged on and Meiyo's eyes flashed before she pounced on her brother, the tussle picking up the dust and dirt on the floor as the two wrestled, Nenriki tickling his sister when he was on top of her, only for her to use her legs to get him in a good enough hold for her to get on his back and pull his hair and pinch him

"What did I miss?" Anko asked as she walked in on the two wrestling, coughing slightly from the dust

"They are fighting" Kakashi stated and Sakura sighed

"He mocked her, she began the wrestling match" The medic said as she looked disapprovingly at the two adults, pulling each other's hair, pinching and tickling the other. Nenriki managed to trap his sister directly under him, his body blocking the view to her face and with her arms pinned down pulled her mask down with a triumphant

"Ha" he stared at the hurt look his twin gave him as he stared now in shock at the two scars on either side of the corner of her lips. "What the hell did they do to you?" He asked, concern leaking through his words as he pulled the mask back up and got off of the woman. Tears formed at the corner of her eyes as she glared, teeth clenching to bite back the remarks of hurt that she wanted to throw at her sibling

"Why do you care?" She seethed

"Why do I care? I am your brother!"

"A brother who is much happier chasing the skirts of the women in town than showing some concern to the twin that had to go through torture" Meiyo spat, her glare intensifying as she grabbed Kakashi's wrist and dragged him upstairs

"Hypocrite!" Nenriki yelled "Look who is allowing the boy she used to hate in her pants" Meiyo growled before throwing a jutsu at her brother, the man barely dodging the lightning attack and stared in shock at the retreating back of his twin "That almost hit me!" He yelled up the stairs

"That was the fucking point!" Meiyo yelled down, a door slamming from the upper level of the old house

* * *

Meiyo fell into the awaiting arms of Kakashi as she whimpered and let the tears fall, he gently held her, happy that he was to one to comfort her.

"He didn't mean it" Kakashi said as he nuzzled his masked face into her hair as she snuggled closer to him "He just realized how badly you were tortured" He murmured to her

"He is an idiot" Meiyo said back, grabbing the fabric in front of her "I was the one who came up with the idea that I should wait here and get tortured for information, but I didn't think they were going to be that cruel" She said, her words muffled in his shirt fabric. Kakashi began softly rubbing his hands up and down her back "He has no idea what they did to me" she cried and Kakashi softly brought her closer to his body "They would constantly stab me, twisting the kunai to make it hurt more, and when that wouldn't work they began gashing, using different tools, cutting, anything they could to make me hurt, make me cry out, they loved cutting my face" Meiyo whispered "Because they knew how much pride I had in my looks, what the Violet Viper was, now I can't even show off anything, they destroyed my image of myself, I am hideous" she said, pushing her face farther into his shirt and Kakashi winced at her words. In his mind she was still beautiful, she was still the same Meiyo he had grown to love, just a bit tattered around the edges and a major attitude adjustment from the torture. He nuzzled his face against her neck and began whispering sweet nothings in her ear to calm her down. Her shaking and sobbing soon subsided and she clung to the man as if he were the last lifeline she had left. And in a way he was, since her brother was currently not available to comfort the woman

* * *

"Did you see her face?" Nenriki said angrily

"No, no one has" Anko stated, Tenten watched with the other two her age as the purple haired man began pacing angrily

"Those bastards" He seethed "I had no idea that they would go so far" he said, before pulling his hair as he looked to the ceiling, closing his eyes "How long was she tortured?"

"Seven years" Anko said, rubbing his arm soothingly.

"_Seven_ _**years**_?" Nenriki said appalled "They are even sicker and twisted than Ojii-san said" He said as he rested his head on Anko's shoulders "I had no idea that they would go so far" he said, Anko patting his upper back "I should have forced her to tell me what happened" He murmured "I am such a horrible brother, I didn't even think she needed someone to talk to" he said before pulling back suddenly "Has she talked about what happened to anyone?"

"She has only really talked to Kakashi-san" Anko said and Nenriki slammed his palm to her head

"And I said she was allowing him in her pants… who says that to their little sister?"

"Will you stop blaming yourself?" Anko said, frowning at the man

"But it is all my fault, I should have pushed to be the one to stay, not Meiyo-chan, and now she is hurt, and the only one she will talk to is that bastard Kakashi-teme" Nenriki ranted, and Anko smirked

"He isn't that bad"

"Isn't that bad? He was so stuck up when he was younger, refused to talk to Meiyo or me, he deserved every last prank we did to him"

"You pranked Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto asked wide-eyed. Nenriki sent a wicked grin to the boy

"Oh did we, Meiyo and I were the perfect team, our weakness was the other's strength. Meiyo once kept a Genjutsu up for 15 minutes strong enough to not only fool Kakashi-teme, but also our academy instructor" Nenriki reminisced "And we were only five and had not even learned how to do a genjutsu properly, Meiyo learned it all her own" Nenriki said, smirking mischievously at the memory "And he was plastered with that green goop as well as anyone who was dumb enough to sit around him" Nenriki said as his smirk slowly transformed to a full on grin "And that was only the beginning" Nenriki said as he told the eager boy what he and his twin had done to the boy's sensei during his academy days, Anko shaking her head at the two and rolled her eyes.

* * *

Kakashi pulled down her mask and frowned when she looked away; he pulled his down and tilted her head up so she could look at him. In the sunlight she gazed at the lower half of his face and wondered slightly why it was hidden, her hand shakily made its way to his cheek and she lightly let her fingers glide across the skin. Kakashi grinned at her reaction and slowly leaned down, as Meiyo slowly closed her eyes and waited for the kiss she was about to receive.

* * *

"Well you little brats were sent here to work, no?" Anko ordered the three teenagers still in the room and interrupting Nenriki's story of how Meiyo set Kakashi's hair on fire. Nenriki pouted at the woman as she lightly glared past him "Well?" She waited and Sakura and Tenten made their way to the cleaning equipment as Naruto pouted. Nenriki grinned and ruffled his hair with his hand

"I'll tell ya later kid" He said grinning

"I am not a kid" Naruto said, pouting slightly

"Whatever you say"


	24. Date Night

I am so glad people are enjoying this story as much as I do! I know a lot of you are not that happy with the torture, but I wanted to mention that humans normally don't change their view unless something bad happens in their life, so I had to have something bad enough to justify Meiyo's complete change of thought process. Also, as a quick note, I have been planning and waiting for this chapter to come about _**forever**_, and now it is finally here and I hope you get just as excited as I am! Hahahahaha! This story is so much fun to write!

OMGosh guys I am so sorry, I didn't realize I uploaded Chapter 18 twice… my bad, please go back and read the real Chapter 19 if you haven't already, it may make everything make more sense… Again, I am so sorry.

Thank you 8hanabi8 for bringing this to my attention

And thank you to my lovely reviewers: Ella Unlimited, and 8hanabi8

OMGosh! Nearly 4700 readers! Ahh Thank you so much!

* * *

Sorry it took so long to update, I just started school on the 7th and honestly should be doing homework since I am a full time student… Oh well… I felt like an update is in order since I have been updating Trapped and this story is so close to the end…! Yes it is almost at the end… but how is it going to end? I have one last twist for this story, so relax, maybe 2 or 3 more chapters left!

Read, Enjoy, and please, please Review, I like to hear what you think, it gives me the motivation to move onto the next chapter!

-Otakucraze

* * *

Chapter 24

* * *

Meiyo glanced at the two scrolls that lay in her closet undisturbed since they came into her procession and sighed before rifling through her grandfather's items before finding a scroll that had both Japanese and Shikyo. Taking the items and the scroll she left the house of her childhood towards the training grounds, not wanting to accidentally damage the house.

After studying the scroll until she was more confused over the Shikyoan language than she had when she had begun she opened the forbidden scroll. Not understanding the characters, but thankful for the pictures she followed the prompts for the handseals and ended with the snake sign. Meiyo wasn't expecting it to work, and she definitely had no idea what the jutsu was. So it thoroughly surprised the masked woman when a sort of void appeared in front of her and a black wispy smoke filtered through the crack. Long black gloved fingers slowly folded themselves over the crack as long billowing black hair wafted in the nonexistent breeze as a long sickly looking woman hefted herself out, the crack disappearing soon after. She didn't seem to be affected by gravity and it took a while for Meiyo's shocked mind to realize that the black wispy smoke from before was actually the woman's clothing. The woman herself seemed void of any color; her skin was an ashy grey and seemed like she was pieced together using crude knowledge of a scalpel and sewing supplies the only thing that stood out was her eyes, for they looked like a predator's, not only by the way they glistened when they fell onto the woman's figure, but also because they were rather snake like in form. Meiyo began scooting backward as the predator-like woman smiling, showing very sharp teeth, with the canines enlarged. Meiyo noticed that the woman had identical scars on either sides of her face, and was interrupted by this odd thought when she spoke.

"Well this is an odd surprise" She said, her voice was one you would expect a maniac woman to spout out of her mouth when going for the kill, everything about her screamed dangerous and deadly. The woman took to sitting leisurely with her legs crossed on the air itself, she leaned forward slightly to rest her head on her hand as she used the other to balance herself. "Who would've ever thought the granddaughter of the great anarchist Trinian would summon me, a mere Shinigami?" Meiyo paled as realization hit her. This woman, and her aura of death and decay, and terror was a Shinigami, and she summoned her "So what could you want?" She said playfully twirling a strand of her black hair around her finger, not once allowing her snake-like eyes to leave Meiyo as she grinned "Money, power? That is what I was first summoned for, but not you" She said as her grin seemed to break the stitches of her wounds on either sides of her mouth. "Not little Meiyo-chan" Her eyes glanced over Meiyo's stiff sprawled out body "Not with what the Shikyo clan has done to you, to your _body"_ Meiyo suddenly felt very naked in front of the other worldly being as she gulped "Perhaps revenge?"

"N-no" Meiyo stuttered out

"I could make those horrid scars disappear" the Shinigami said with glee "For a price"

"N-no thank you" Meiyo managed out, slowly scooting away from the Shinigami

"Than what do you want?" The woman said as she sprawled herself on her stomach happily, resting her head on her waiting palms as she kicked her feet in the air as if she did this everyday

"I didn't mean to"

"You didn't mean to what darling" The woman whispered, twisting the word darling as if she had already caught her prey and was about to eat it

"T-to summon you" Meiyo managed to spit out. The woman stopped smiling for a moment and gave her a light glare before she grinned again

"You will need me one day little Meiyo-chan, and when that day comes, you are mine" She said before disappearing in the same wispy black smoke from which she appeared. Her last three words, though whispered echoed through the clearing, in Meiyo's head, and in her soul. Meiyo took a moment to catch her breath before digging a hole and throwing the scroll in before burying it. Meiyo went back to her house shaking in fear from the wake of the Shinigami and intercepted Kakashi

"Meiyo-chan!" He said happily, before noticing her shaking form "Are you alright?" Meiyo shook her head no and Kakashi pulled her into a hug as she continued to shake. Meiyo refused to let anyone know just what she saw, refused to have anyone summon the being that had shaken her life up to create the pitiful shaking terrified kunoichi on her knees before a grown man that was in love with her holding her close, confused as he always would be in that moment over what was going on to make her that terrified.

* * *

"Do I really have to wear a fucking dress?" Meiyo whined to the man waiting on the other side of the door

"That was part of the compromise" Kakashi answered, grinning as he said it. He could hear her growl and sigh loudly "You want to talk about it?" He asked when she opened the door to show herself in a dress she stole from the Shikyo Island. It, along with most of the clothes they wore, was black, had sleeves, and was rather short, but Meiyo made up for it with some nicely placed thigh-high socks, all in all you could really only see her hands, the upper part of her face and about an inch of her thighs where the socks ended and the skirt part of the dress began. She did not look happy due to the fact that she knew what was coming next, high heels.

"Sure" Meiyo said, knowing full well that he was talking about what happened only a couple days ago, where it took her a full day to stop the shaking "I hate dresses, and I am almost at the point where I outright refuse to wear the fucking heels" she said, Kakashi glared

"You know exactly what I was talking about" He said and Meiyo pouted and looked away

"No, I don't want to talk about it" Meiyo said stubbornly

"I can help you"

"Ha" Meiyo said "You say that and you don't even know what happened" Meiyo said giving off one more long sigh before dropping the cursed shoes in her hand and putting them on "I may need you to carry me home"

"I don't mind" Kakashi said happily standing beside her as she wobbled in the shoes

"And I am going to need you to keep me balanced"

"Again, I don't mind" Kakashi said, offering his arm which she clasped onto almost for dear life as she slowly walked down the steps, Kakashi grinned when she stopped at the third step from the top, almost falling "Why don't I carry you the rest of the way down?" Kakashi suggested and Meiyo growled as she allowed herself to be picked up bridal style by the man and be carried down the stairs

"I feel so helpless in these fucking shoes" she admitted when he let her down unwillingly only to be happy he grabbed his arm with both hands. Meiyo growled. "I am going to find out who created these damn things and kill him"

"He is probably already dead"

"Then I will raise him up from the dead and kill him again, and repeat it until satisfied" Meiyo said evilly

"And how do you plan on raising him from the dead?"

"Oh, I have my ways" Meiyo said mischievously, and Kakashi gave her a very confused look, which Meiyo pointedly ignored so she wouldn't have to explain. Meiyo kind of liked the idea of having a Shinigami on her side, but she shook the thought out of her head, with every deal there is a price, and she did not want to know the price that a Shinigami would ask for.

* * *

"That was fun" Meiyo slurred in Kakashi's arms as she nestled her head into the crook of his neck. Kakashi grinned, happy that Meiyo was a happy drunk rather than a violent drunk like Anko was, the last time he drank with Anko had also been his last, Kakashi didn't like nearly being skewered.

"My home or yours?" Kakashi asked, praying that the woman in his arms could read his mind and say his house. Nenriki would kill him if he saw the way she was cuddling against him, kissing him through the fabric on his neck; she even bit him with her mask still on. Kakashi thanked the heavens he could hold his liquor. Meiyo could not. Meiyo was pissed drunk after half a cup of sake, and Kakashi had to quickly take the cup away and pull up her mask before anyone saw what lay underneath. One thing for sure, the two were never going to a bar at the end of their date again.

"Yours" Meiyo said, once again snuggling next to his chest as she splayed her arms around his neck. Kakashi readjusted his weight to carry her upright and her heel dangled from his fingers. "Don't wanna deal Nenriki" Kakashi was able to make out as a light snore was heard from the woman in his arms. At least she agreed, Nenriki was not one to be trifled with when it came to his younger sister, Kakashi thought, a tiny angry Meiyo jumping up and yelling "Older by ten minutes!" in his head, making him smile as he readjusted his load and turned the handle to his house, closing the door with his foot after he was inside. He gently placed Meiyo on his bed, intending to sleep on the couch to find that the woman had a death grip on his neck and refused to let go while she slept. He sighed and took off his hitai-ate, kicked off his shoes, and took his mask off and pulled down hers to lightly kiss her before gently making enough room for himself to lie down in. He visibly grinned when the sleeping woman nearly climbed on top of him for warmth as he used his feet and hands to place a blanket on top of the two. An image popped into his head at how angry the snuggling woman would be when she woke up appeared in his head but Kakashi dismissed it. The two had slept in the same bed before.

With her arms finally out of their death grip around his neck Kakashi was able to maneuver his shirt off and smiled happily to himself as he slowly wrapped his arms around the tiny woman and get comfortable, something he found very easy to do when she was sleeping nearly on top of him.

* * *

Meiyo awoke warm and happy, until she noticed that something wasn't right. Her brain wasn't able to process much when her stomach complained and the feeling of about to vomit came over her. She zipped out of bed, and ran towards the bathroom, retching into the ceramic basin of the toilet as her angry stomach let up everything in its bowels. She was able to rest for a moment to catch her breath as she rested her feverish head against the cool surface of the ceramic bowl and her brain hurried to recollect itself.

_What happened last night?_ She thought as she looked around the bathroom that definitely wasn't hers.

_Probably Kakashi's_ she thought when her body began to retch once more. Hands pulled back her hair and she was thankful that he was there.

_What else happened last night? Oh God! I didn't! _She thought, and mentally checked to make sure her clothes were still on, glad to see the sleeve saying she was still wearing her dress, mentally checking to make sure her bra and underwear was still on. Mentally sighing in relief that she was in every article of clothing that she had left the house in the night before her brain began to reevaluate why she was vomiting

_The liquor, we went to a bar last night after dinner at a dark sushi place so I wouldn't have to worry about the speed eating that I would need to make sure no one saw what was under my mask_ Meiyo thought as she groaned "I am never drinking again" she moaned before vomiting once more. Kakashi chuckled behind her "How much did I have?" Meiyo asked as she waited for another wave of retching as she wiped her mouth and swallowing to get rid of the acidic taste at the back of her throat.

"Half a saucer" Kakashi said

"I am a lightweight" Meiyo admitted

"Yes you are"

"I think I am finally done puking" Meiyo said as she stood up shakily, taking Kakashi's arm when he offered it, she leaned back into him and he wrapped his arms around her as she flushed the toilet. He kissed her neck and she relaxed

"Want something to eat?" He asked

"No" she said as she clutched her head

"Hangover," Kakashi said while shaking his head "You really are a lightweight" he picked her up and Meiyo protested a bit until he placed her back in his bed and covered her with the blankets "I am going to get you something for the hangover, a Hatake special, and get you some crackers and water for your stomach, do you want anything else?"

"No" Meiyo muttered as she pulled the blanket over her eyes, breathing in deeply his scent.

Meiyo was half asleep when Kakashi came back in his room, still shirtless and maskless and handed her a cup after pulling the blanket off her

"Drink this"

"What is it?"

"A family recipe to get rid of hangovers" he said and watched as she made a face when she smelled it.

"It smells horrible" She admitted before holding it down and chugging it, making another face "And tastes disgusting" she said

"Here" he said, as he handed her a glass of water to wash it down, which Meiyo accepted gratefully and drank it "If you get hungry here are some crackers" Kakashi said as he felt her forehead when she laid back down, taking the glass to refill it "Get some sleep" He said as he kissed her gently on the lips before leaving to let her sleep. He came back moments later to find her asleep, clutching his pillow to her face in his absence, he smiled lightly at the scene and placed the cold washcloth on her forehead to help with her fever and watched as she slowly woke up

"What time is it?"

"Three in the morning" Kakashi said, fully awake

"Aren't you tired?" She said as she made room for him

"Yeah, but you have a fever and are not feeling well" he said as he sat down beside her

"Go back to sleep, I'll be fine" Meiyo said before falling back asleep on the other side of bed. Kakashi sighed as a wave of fatigue hit him and decided to take her advice, going back to sleep next to Meiyo, who instinctively rolled back over to basically sleep on top of him all over again.


	25. Shocker

I am so glad people are enjoying this story as much as I do! I know a lot of you are not that happy with the torture, but I wanted to mention that humans normally don't change their view unless something bad happens in their life, so I had to have something bad enough to justify Meiyo's complete change of thought process. Also, as a quick note, I have been planning and waiting for this chapter to come about _**forever**_, and now it is finally here and I hope you get just as excited as I am! Hahahahaha! This story is so much fun to write!

OMGosh guys I am so sorry, I didn't realize I uploaded Chapter 18 twice… my bad, please go back and read the real Chapter 19 if you haven't already, it may make everything make more sense… Again, I am so sorry.

Thank you 8hanabi8 for bringing this to my attention

And thank you to my lovely reviewers: Ella Unlimited, and 8hanabi8

OMGosh! Nearly 4900 readers! Ahh Thank you so much!

Sorry it took so long to update, I just started school on the 7th and honestly should be doing homework since I am a full time student… Oh well… I felt like an update is in order since I have been updating Trapped and this story is so close to the end…! Yes it is almost at the end… but how is it going to end? I have one last twist for this story, so relax, maybe 2 or 3 more chapters left!

Read, Enjoy, and please, please Review, I like to hear what you think, it gives me the motivation to move onto the next chapter!

-Otakucraze

* * *

Chapter 25

* * *

Meito awoke warm and very, very happy. Meiyo also felt very safe as well. Her body wanted to lie in her bed forever, just smelling this intoxicating scent that surrounded her made her want to just lie there forever.

But her mind wouldn't let her

What is this scent, it smells so familiar….

This is Kakashi's scent… and I am surrounded by it…

Meiyo had her eyes opened in a flash to find her wedged in between his strong arms, holding her to his bare, toned chest. Meiyo's brain went into overdrive from the shock to waking up to the sight and she mentally checked to make sure she was wearing all of her clothes. Memories of hours prior finally reappeared, reminding Meiyo That she was sick, and before that drunk, which was the reason she was not her home. Thoughts of how caring Kakashi was when she was throwing up, with the hangover, and her fever flooded back and Meiyo looked at the nightstand where a pile of crackers and a glass of water lie.

With the initial shock over she calmed her heavily beating heart when Kakashi mumbled

"Meiyo" She looked up at his maskless face and smiled softly. He wasn't hurting her, he did nothing wrong, really he helped her. She woke him up and he cared enough about her to take care of her. Meiyo reached over and grabbed a cracker and munched on it slowly, since her stomach was still doing somersaults. She put her head on his chest and relaxed again, listening to his heartbeat and his rhythmic breathing.

Meiyo got bored after slowly finishing off the crackers and decided he needed to wake up, besides he was known to wake up way later than she did and she could not allow him to keep her hostage in his strong arms that entire time. Meiyo thought of the ways she could wake him up, but decided on the gentlest method, because of how he acted before, and she kissed him lightly on the lips. He grinned when he began kissing back and rolled over so he was on top, resting his forehead on hers

"Mmmm, that was a nice way to wake up early"

"I should probably go" Meiyo said, "I wanted to thank you for taking care of me last night though"

"Do you have to?"

"You are not the one who has to deal with Nenriki"

"Would he really be up this early?" Kakashi asked as he kissed her jawbone. And Kakashi had a point, Nenriki had slacked off since he left Konoha and was waking up ten and working until ten and staying up until midnight, and it was currently five-thirty

"No" Meiyo admitted and Kakashi smirked as he crashed his lips onto Meiyo's lips again. Meiyo let him kiss her, even though she slightly enjoyed it. Kakashi sighed.

"Can you at least respond when I kiss you?"

"How so?" Meiyo asked, a bored look on her face, not liking the smirk that appeared on his face. His lips crashed onto hers and he bit her lower lip. "Ah" she said, and Kakashi took that moment to stick his tongue into her mouth. Her eyes widened as he coaxed her tongue to move with his. Meiyo tested the waters and soon found her eyelids closing and began to enjoy the experience. Kakashi wrapped his arm around her waist to get her closer to him and her hands slowly found their way around his neck. His hand not around her waist began tracing her curves and Meiyo broke for air. Her hand grabbed his as he was about to touch her breast. Her eyebrow rose, asking the silent question and Kakashi smiled sheepishly. "I think that is enough excitement for today" Meiyo said and Kakashi sighed in defeat as he let her go, pouting slightly, the sight causing Meiyo to roll her eyes.

"The festival is coming up" He said before she left the room, she froze and moaned

"Not again, can't I have just one year off from the torture?" Meiyo moaned, Kakashi hugged her from behind and rested his chin on her shoulder

"Please" He whispered

"Does it count as the date for that week?" Meiyo asked

"Do you really not like me that much?"

"Only when you make me wear dresses and kimonos" Meiyo stated bluntly

"Please?"

"Fine, but you owe me big time"

"Of course" Kakashi said and he kissed her neck and bit down. Meiyo, who was not expecting it, squeaked, and the spot seemed to have some effect on her knees because they began to give out. Kakashi caught her and smirked at her shocked face

"What just happened?" Meiyo asked

"Did you like it?" Kakashi asked, his face lighting up as he awaited the answer much like an eager puppy. Meiyo's blush told Kakashi the answer he was hoping she would say and she looked away in a slight embarrassment. Kakashi bit in the same spot and as predicted caught her and rushed to the bed to do it once more. He began to nibble on the spot and she moaned her hands clasped over her mouth and eyes widened in horror. Kakashi grinned "I will take that as you really liked it"

"Did that really just happen?"

"Absolutely" Kakashi said, grin widening "Don't look so terrified" Kakashi said as he nuzzled her neck "I like it when you moan" he whispered hoarsely in her ear. Watching as her face grew bright red

"I think I should go- oh" Meiyo said moaning again when Kakashi began to nibble her neck again, smirking as he did so. "You are hooorible" she said as she moaned

* * *

"I can't believe I am doing this… again" Meiyo said as Kakashi broke apart after he saw her in the kimono for the festival. "You do remember the last time I went to the damn festival right?" Meiyo said as she lifted her mask as Kakashi did the same

"Oh please, the probability that will happen again is around 1000 to one." Kakashi said

"I know, but is it too much to ask for just one damn year away from the damn thing?" Meiyo said pouting slightly

"But you look sexy in a kimono" Kakashi said as he held onto Meiyo's waist, and Meiyo rolled her eyes at his statement, glad that her mask covered her burning cheeks.

"I do not"

"Yes you do" he whispered huskily in her ear, enjoying the fact that he sent a shiver down her spine.

"I would rather spend the night inside" Meiyo said, tracing her fingers up his toned chest "Couldn't we do that instead?" Meiyo asked seductively and Kakashi found himself forcing himself to say no rather than the possibility of finally having sex with the women.

"But you are already dressed in your kimono" Kakashi said forcefully

"And the only one I really care about seeing me in it is standing right in front of me" Meiyo said as she wrapped her arm around his neck seductively, kissing his neck through the fabric of her mask. Kakashi gulped, he really liked where this was going, but he really wanted to show her off, the two thoughts were fighting themselves within him and he was glad he was near the door to the house as he chastely kissed her through the masks and opened the door and led her out. Kakashi smirked when he heard her growl. He at least hoped that after the night's festivities she would allow him to finish what they began in that room. But by her mood stating she was pissed off he doubted it. Oh well, there was always next time.

The two met Nenriki and Anko and Nenriki gawked at Meiyo, who glared at her older brother

"Dang, you look good in a kimono Meiyo-chan"

"Shut up" Meiyo said, still pissed that her seductive measures failed when it came to the silver haired masked man next to her. She was hoping that it would, next time she was going to add dinner on top of the possibility of sex.

"What she means is thank you, she's peeved we are not staying in tonight" Kakashi said for her, and her glare rounded its way to him. "We are going to have fun" Kakashi reminded the masked female who scoffed as she crossed her arms in front of her

"This is going to end badly" Meiyo predicted

"Again the probability of that is a thousand to one, relax, let's get some food and play some games" Kakashi suggested and led her away from the happy purple haired couple currently making out by the small of Meiyo's back.

* * *

Kakashi won Meiyo a stuffed animal which caused the woman to lift her eyebrow

"You don't have to win me things, I can do that myself" She said as Naruto bounded up

"Kakashi-sensei" he said, and Meiyo forced the giant fox in his direction

"Look what Kakashi-sensei won you" Meiyo said with fake enthusiasm and watched as Naruto's eyes began to glisten

"Really?" He asked the masked woman, completely ignoring the masked man who was his sensei as he lightly glared at his date, who crinkled her eyes as she nodded and Naruto sped away telling anyone who would listen that his sensei won him the giant fox. Meiyo grinned in her date's direction

"I won that for you" He stated

"I have no need for a giant stuffed animal" She stated back

"You are frustrating"

"As are you, I don't want to be here, remember?" Meiyo said

"Food?"

"Sure" Meiyo said as she sighed, she really wanted to get back to the safety of her house, or his, as long as she didn't have to be out there in the festival.

Kakashi bought her some dango and led her off to a quiet dark place to eat it.

The two stood with her brother and Anko and the others as the fireworks began to go off, when the unthinkable happened

Meiyo screamed as she felt a blade slide through her body as Kakashi whirled around in shock. Nenriki screamed and went to attack the Shikyo that dared to ruin the event. The sword came out of the shocked woman to deflect the kunai coming his way and she fell to her knees. Kakashi caught her and Anko began screaming for a medic. Kakashi held her close as blood seeped out of the wound. The people around them were screaming and running, their screams barely audible over the loud booms of the fireworks above them. Meiyo coughed up blood, her mask catching it and Kakashi felt helpless as he felt her life flood from her body.

Sakura pushed her way through the crowd and crouched opposite of her sensei as she began to see what was wrong in her body.

The Shikyo smirked and disappeared and Nenriki cursed, Anko running into his arms as tears flooded down her face. Nenriki waited in worry at the result of his younger sister's health.

Meiyo looked up at the worried face of Kakashi and said

"I told you we should've stayed inside" as she closed her eyes. Her breathing slowed until it outright stopped and Kakashi looked over to Sakura, wanting her to say she was just asleep, as she stopped the green chakra flowing from her hands, she looked forlornly at her sensei as he shook her head.

"I'm sorry,"

"No" Nenriki said in shock "No, this can't be happening" He said and Anko held him closer to her

"I got here too late" Sakura said, eyes to the ground. Kakashi held her still warm body closer to him as tears flooded down his face

"The swords!" Nenriki said as an afterthought and wiped the tears off of his face and ran off to his house after tearing himself away from Anko.

Nenriki got there just in time to see the same Shikyo that attacked his sister take off with two swords and disappear

"Damn it!" Nenriki yelled into the night "Damn it all to hell!"


	26. Finale

IT IS FINISHED! The finale is here, so thank you so much for sticking with this story intil the very end! I appreciate it so much!

OMGosh guys I am so sorry, I didn't realize I uploaded Chapter 18 twice… my bad, please go back and read the real Chapter 19 if you haven't already, it may make everything make more sense… Again, I am so sorry.

Thank you 8hanabi8 for bringing this to my attention

OMGosh! Nearly 5000 readers! Ahh Thank you so much!

Read, Enjoy, and please, please Review, I like to hear what you think!

-Otakucraze

* * *

Chapter 26

* * *

Meiyo looked at her dead body in Kakashi's arms in shock

"I'm dead?" She whispered

"Weird huh?" the familiar voice of the Shinigami said beside her, making the woman jump "Why do you look so surprised? I told you I would be back"

"What do you want?" Meiyo asked, scared of her answer. The Shinigami smiled, showing off her sharp teeth.

"Nothing much" She said as she laid herself down, propping her head once more on her palms floating beside Meiyo "Just wanted you to see something" She said evilly and snapped her long slender bony fingers as the scene changed around her "I want you to see what happens in the future" the Shinigami said evilly and tilted her head to the upstairs room of the house she grew up in. In an instant the two were in the room to see Nenriki filtering through her things and coming across the half of the scroll that she had attempted to translate.

"What's this?" Nenriki said voice hoarse from the constant screaming and yelling as he opened the scroll.

"He spends a month straight translating the scroll" the Shinigami said. "This is two days after your death, by the way" the Shinigami said. Meiyo watched as the scene changed to Kakashi's house, where he just sat on his couch staring at the wall "He has been this way ever since he got back here after your funeral" the Shinigami commented. "The fun happens after your brother finishes translating that scroll" the Shinigami said evilly and snapped her fingers. Kakashi and Nenriki were seen talking amongst themselves.

"So we are set for tomorrow?" Kakashi asked and Nenriki nodded

"They will pay for what they did to my sister"

"The two of them are going to the Shikyo island?" Meiyo screamed "They will get themselves killed!" the Shinigami's grin widened at the woman's anger as she snapped her fingers to show Kakashi's dead body with a single bloody kunai sticking out from his shoulder, and Meiyo felt the urge to throw up

"Hatake Kakashi dies the second he steps onto their island" the Shinigami said, snapping her fingers once more "Your twin brother did a bit more damage" she said, sitting as she motioned her right hand to show the damage to the buildings around them "But Kodowari Nenriki dies twenty minutes after Hatake Kakashi, the two became AWOL and search parties for the two never found either of their bodies."

Meiyo fell to her knees as the Shinigami snapped her fingers to go back to the scene of Meiyo's death

"I… I can't let it happen" Meiyo said in shock, looking into Kakashi's eye even though he could not see her.

"You don't have to" the Shinigami said "I can make sure that Hake Kakashi and Kodowari Nenriki never make it to the Shikyo Island and that they live to a nice old age" the woman said, her voice once more sounding like a predator rounding up on its prey. Meiyo looked at the Shinigami, her black fluid like hair floating as the wispy black smoke that was her clothing wafted around her outstretched hand that fell near the woman. Meiyo tentatively took the hand and was lifted to her feet

"What do I have to do?" Meiyo said after gulping, after all, she was already dead; it wasn't like she could offer much

"Just sign here" the Shinigami said as a scroll appeared out of the sleeve of her left hand, she unrolled it, the scroll falling near Meiyo's feet, a line next to a letter x shown in deep red.

"What do I sign with?" Meiyo asked

"Your blood" the Shinigami said, her grin widening as the stitches of her wounds on either side of her mouth began to tighten by the gesture. Meiyo pulled down her mask and bit hard on her thumb until she drew blood and wrote her name on the line. The Shinigami grinned and pulled the scroll out of the way, and it rolled back up into her awaiting right hand, and it disappeared in the wispy black smoke of the sleeve of the beings left arm.

Meiyo watched as her body was forced out of Kakashi's hands and wheeled into the morgue for her autopsy

Meiyo stood with the Shinigami, unsure of what was going to happen next "Well then" She said evilly, causing Meiyo to regret signing the scroll already, although she was still dead, what could possibly be her payment? "Shall we start the fun?" She asked

"What f-" the Shinigami grinned too wide for her mouth and snapped her fingers

Meiyo shot up, breathing as the coroner screamed as he jumped back and hit his head on the table, falling unconscious, but Meiyo couldn't care much about that, she stared at her hands. She was dead, right? She didn't feel any pain, but she was breathing.

"What?" Meiyo asked confused, as thoughts of what was going to happen rushed into her mind and she jumped off the operation table and ran to the door, a cold bony arm stopped her

"Not so fast" the Shinigami said, Meiyo jumped back

"But Nenriki, Kakashi-"

"Will be fine, time to hold up your end of the deal" she said

"What deal?"

"I keep Kakashi and Nenriki safe and in return you get to help me kill the rest of the Shikyo clan" She said happily

"What?" Meiyo yelled in shock

"You signed for it" the Shinigami said evilly, grabbing the scroll from her sleeve and unrolling it "In return, I, Kodowari Meiyo, will slay the remainder of the Shikyo clan" she read, rolling the scroll back up and placing it in her sleeve

"You tricked me!" Meiyo yelled indignantly "I just wanted to keep them safe!"

"Meiyo, Meiyo, Meiyo" the Shinigami said, shaking her hand "I am giving you life again, and the freedom to live happily with Hatake Kakashi without the constant threat of the Shikyo clan, is that not worth doing this simple, small task for me?" The Shinigami said with her mischievous smirk on her face. Meiyo glared at her

"But how?" Meiyo asked, and the Shinigami's grin widened too much for her mouth as it spilled into her scars, tightening the stitches, she took off her right glove showing off her sickly grey skin of her bony hand and handed it to Meiyo

"With this, any jutsu you use with this glove on will kill any Shikyo, whether or not they have the swords"

"But, even if I go to the island they will kill me in seconds"

"No, because you made a deal with a Shinigami, and technically you are already dead, you will not, and cannot die until the scroll you signed is completed, so basically you can't die by anyone until the Shikyo are all dead"

"But I still need to see Nenriki and Kakashi and tell them I am alright"

"No, you are my slave until this is complete, we are getting the scroll for the Shikyo whip and leaving Konoha for the Shikyo Island, and we are going via teleportation" She said and snapped her fingers, Meiyo finding herself in her room, Meiyo put the glove on and grabbed the scroll from her closet and the Shinigami snapped her fingers once more, Meiyo finding herself on a boat heading towards the Shikyo Island.

"What's the plan?" Meiyo asked bitterly

* * *

Two Years Later

* * *

A figure in black rushed the man with purple hair, pushing a kunai against his throat.

"Shikyo" Nenriki said bitterly

"Keep her away from me!" She said, the wind blew past the two

"Keep who away from you? And why would I want to, haven't you taken enough from me as it is?" Nenriki asked bitterly to the frightened man

"Who? Your twin, she's crazy, she can kill us! She's killed a lot of us; she is coming to kill me!" Nenriki raised an eyebrow to the frightened, shaking man, not believing him for a second

"The only way to kill a Shikyo is with the swords, and if I remember correctly, the Shikyo clan took them the same day your clan killed my sister"

A figure clad in black with a long billowing black cloak that covered the figures face appeared a few feet away from the two. The man looked back in fear

"Stay away from me!" he said as he ran, and Nenriki looked shocked, the Shikyo were not allowed to show emotion, especially fear, it made them believe they were weak. Nenriki looked at the figure as they began to do seals and a whip of lightning appeared in the gloved hand of the person, and it crashed into the Shikyo's arm, ripping the limb off, the man's eyes lost their light and the figure spoke

"How many more are left?" Nenriki's eyes widened when his mind recognized the voice

Kakashi walked out of the bookstore with the newest Icha Icha book when he overhear Nenriki

"Meiyo?" the book in Kakashi's hands dropped and looked in the direction of the cloaked figure.

Ten men in black, the symbol for the Shikyo clan in white on their backs jumped around the cloaked figure and threw kunai at it. One hit the hood and it fell to reveal the face that Kakashi and Nenriki knew as Meiyo and the day that she died faded back for them

* * *

"_What do you mean she's alive?" Nenriki yelled at the coroner_

"_I performed the healing jutsu on her and felt the life leave her body, for her to 'wake up' is impossible" Sakura said, Kakashi just stood there stunned at the thought_

"_I was about to cut off her clothes to start the autopsy when she sat up and breathed deeply, I screamed and hit my head, she must have walked off"_

"_Are you sure?" Nenriki said, not fully believing the man_

"_I would bet my life on it" the coroner said. Tsunade shook the shocked look off of her face, it was too unbelievable to be true

* * *

_

Meiyo did the same seals she performed minutes earlier and let the whip fly, hitting the majority of the ambush as the rest dodged the best they could, a couple running for their life. The four alive took the example of the two that ran off and Meiyo did the seals for her signature

"Raiton: Shikyo Ryuu Doragon Denkou (Killing Lightning Dragon of Death)" she yelled, slamming her right hand on the ground as a dragon of black lightning shot up, engulfing the four remaining Shikyo "Am I done now?" Meiyo asked the pointed question to the air beside her

"Who is she talking to?" Kakashi asked her twin

"I don't know" The two watched in shock as she sighed the two watched in horror as a sword ran through her body

"NO" The two men said in shock and anger. Meiyo rolled her eyes as the sword was ripped out of her, and she fell, pretending to be dead

"I did it!" the man said "I killed the murderer!"

"Watch who you call murderer" Meiyo said from the ground and sent the whip she had in her hand at the man, watching as the whip of black lightning struck the man in his middle, separating him. Meiyo got up, the wound caused by the blade completely healed "There" she said, head pointed to the air beside her "I'm done" she said. The two men looked at each other in confusion before looking back at Meiyo as she began to take off the glove on her right hand, she handed it to the air beside her, and the Shinigami appeared as she touched the glove. The two men jumped backwards

"What is that?" Nenriki asked in shock

"Are you sure?" The Shinigami asked Meiyo as she glared back at the creature "I could get rid of all those horrible scars that run across your body" She said as she stroked Meiyo's masked cheek

Meiyo thought about the offer, for it was very tempting

"No" Meiyo answered, and the Shinigami frowned at the woman "It is a tempting offer, but I don't want to see what I would have to do in return to pay for such a thing" Meiyo said as confidently as she could, The Shinigami's frown deepened and she lightly glare

"Very well, I will see you again soon, Kodowari Meiyo" She said and disappeared in the black wispy smoke. When the creature was finally gone Meiyo's body relaxed and she released the breath she was holding and turned to her brother and Kakashi, she grinned

"I'm free" She said as she ran to them

"You're alive" Nenriki said as he enveloped her in a big hug "What was that thing?" he asked and held her at arm's length, Kakashi looked annoyed that Nenriki was subconsciously keeping her away from him

"A Shinigami" Meiyo said calmly

"A WHAT? YOU MADE A DEAL WITH A WHAT?"

"… It wasn't intentional" Meiyo admitted, Kakashi looked taken aback

"You made a deal to be brought back to life? Meiyo-chan, I am glad you are alive, but still, the price to pay for any deal is too high, what did you have to do anyway that took two years?"

"Kill the Shikyo clan"

"WHAT?"

"And I didn't make a deal for me to be brought back to life, I unintentionally made a deal to save the two of you from killing yourself because of my death" Meiyo said

"You are an idiot!" Nenriki said as he let Meiyo go and began pacing next to her, lecturing her all the while why it is such a bad idea to make deals with other-worldly beings, but Meiyo wasn't listening because she was focused on the silver haired masked man that was near her

"You are alive" Kakashi said as she got closer to him

"I noticed" Meiyo joked

"Why didn't you come see me?"

"I couldn't, I was her slave until the end of the contract" Meiyo explained, and the two just stared at each other

"Meiyo? Are you even listening to me?" Nenriki asked, enraged that he was being ignored

Meiyo took the chance and quickly closed the distance between the two of them and pulled down his mask the same moment she pulled down hers and captured his lips in the most passionate kiss she could

"What the hell is this?" Nenriki asked in shock, motioning to the two kissing

Kakashi wrapped his arms around her and did the seals necessary to teleport the two of them into his bedroom

* * *

Epilogue

* * *

Three Months Later

* * *

Meiyo headed up to the Hokage Tower so happy that she had to force herself from skipping

"Hokage-sama" She said to the woman behind the desk to get her attention, Tsunade looked up "I need to resign from being a kunoichi" Meiyo said

"What? Why?"

"I'm pregnant" Meiyo said as she grinned

"Oh… does Kakashi know?"

"Nope"

"Ah, well then, thank you for your service to Konoha" Tsunade said and Meiyo took off her hitai-ate and went to place it on her desk "Keep it" Tsunade said and shooed her out of her office "What are you going to name it?"

"I don't know what I am going to name _them_" Meiyo answered as she closed the door to the office leaving a wide-eyed Tsunade to mouth the word "Twins"

* * *

Meiyo happily finished dinner the second Kakashi came home

"You look happy" he said as they kissed lightly "That looks good" he said as he sat down eager to eat her food

"I have a surprise for you" She said as she sat down, Kakashi filled his plate and began shoving the food in his mouth; he acknowledged her words by a quick glance in her direction. He stopped eating and took a drink "I'm pregnant" Kakashi's drink spouted out of mouth and all over the floor from the shock. Meiyo continued to grin happily as Kakashi looked back at her in shock

"Oh"

* * *

Two Months Later

* * *

"Have you thought of any names?" Kakashi asked his fiancé

"I don't know yet"

"What about Nami?" he asked "If it is a boy" he continued, and Meiyo thought about it

"It's okay, but what about the other one?"

"If we have a girl?"

"No, if we have two boys."

"What?" Kakashi asked, thoroughly scared now

"I'm related to the Shikyo clan, Kakashi, I am most likely having twins" Meiyo said in her 'duh' voice, as if it were completely obvious

"Twins"

"Twins"

"We are having twins"

"Yep" Meiyo said, getting slightly annoyed by his idiocy. "What did you expect me to have? A litter of puppies?"

* * *

Meiyo and Kakashi were married a month later

* * *

Meiyo ended up having twins, a boy and a girl, and they both wrecked havoc on Konoha, just as Nenriki and Meiyo had when they were younger. The two had little of the Shikyo's power with blood, as it had been diluted twice now, and barely knocked someone out when it pierced the skin. This, to Meiyo, was great news, as the blood of the Shikyo was an annoying hindrance and a great responsibility to bear, that she did not wish to pass to her children

When Meiyo's twins were two Nenriki and Anko got engaged and were soon building up their own family as well. Anko did not have twins, to Nenriki's horror for their first child, but to Nenriki's delight, two years later, Anko gave birth to twin boys. Anko hatred for little boys stems directly from this.

* * *

Meiyo slapped Kakashi when he came back to see her after he supposedly died

"You are not allowed to die, got it, if it happens again I will summon the Shinigami and bring you back to life myself, and then when my debt is paid off I will beat you up until you are an inch from death, understand me?"


End file.
